VIDEO: Neuralink patient converts thoughts into spoken words for the first time

A Neuralink participant has achieved a new milestone in the company’s brain-computer interface technology by using neural signals to communicate words, with the first message displayed as “I love you.”

The development was presented as part of Neuralink’s VOICE clinical trial, an initiative focused on restoring communication for people with severe speech paralysis, including individuals affected by conditions such as ALS, strokes or spinal cord injuries.

Unlike earlier brain-computer interface applications focused primarily on controlling cursors or other devices, the technology used in the trial directly reads brain signals and decodes them into speech or text.

In a video shared by Neuralink, the participant uses the technology to produce his first words, while the message “I love you” appears on screen.

The VOICE trial represents another step in the development of brain-computer interfaces designed to give people with severe speech disabilities a way to communicate by translating intended speech from brain activity into an audible or written form.