Always thought brain implants were sci-fi nonsense... until I saw a demo at a trade show in Chicago last spring

I watched a guy with Parkinson's use a BCI to steady his hand and pour water from a cup without spilling a drop. Has anyone else had a moment where a live demo changed your mind about this tech?

2 comments

2 Comments

daniel5521mo ago

and then there's the stuff they're doing with spinal cord injuries. a friend of a friend was in that demo crowd, guy with a complete spinal injury at T10, stood up and took steps using a BCI that sent signals past his injury. not perfect, not walking a marathon, but 10 steps. 10 steps from a guy who was told he'd never move his legs again. that kind of stuff makes you realize the sci-fi is just engineering we haven't finished yet. the parkinson's demo is impressive but the spinal stuff is the one that really hits you in the gut.

the_jenny1mo ago

yeah that's funny you say that because i used to be one of those people who thought brain implants were just rich people toys or something, like we were gonna be plugging into computers to play games faster. never really gave it much thought beyond the creepy surveillance angle. but hearing about a guy with a complete spinal injury standing up and walking even 10 steps, that hit different. that's not about convenience or entertainment, that's literally giving someone back something they thought was gone forever. it changes how i think about the whole field honestly, makes it feel less like tech hype and more like actual medicine.