Terry could not speak. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which primarily affects the voice and swallowing, took his voice away a long time ago, and with it, a thousand things so simple that you cannot imagine how important they are until you lose them.
Terry is an outgoing person, he loves to talk, and it is heartbreaking to see what he is going through, said his wife, Lori.
But a new technological invention changed everything. A few months ago, Terry took part in the VOICE trial conducted by Elon Musk’s company and became the third patient to receive Neuralink’s brain implant, a chip that records the brain’s electrical activity and uses artificial intelligence to decipher what he is trying to say.
No one knew whether it would work outside a laboratory, but Terry would prove it with the most intimate phrase he could say to his wife: “I love you”.
In the video Neuralink shared, which Elon Musk reposted using those same words, Terry’s face can first be seen completely focused, followed a few seconds later by the synthetic voice.
Although the experimental device has not yet been approved by the FDA, Terry is very happy with the results, and it could be the first step toward changing the lives of thousands of people seeking to express themselves, even if only digitally.