The first person to have ChatGPT implanted in the brain to help manipulate electronic devices

ChatGPT is being tested by Synchron, one of the pioneers of brain implant (BCI) chips to help patients manipulate electronic devices.

Mark was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in 2021, leaving him with little use of his hands. He and nine others participated in clinical trials of a BCI implant with ChatGPT from Synchron.

Currently, with the help of BCI, typing messages word by word is still time-consuming. However, adding AI will make communication faster and easier through the ability to recognize relevant context. Artificial intelligence can help predict responses and provide users with a list of possible options during each conversation.

Mark shared that ChatGPT occasionally lets out a curse word, which I often do too.

Synchron CEO Tom Oxley says the integration of AI into brain implants is still a work in progress. Over the past year or so, Synchron has been experimenting with a variety of AI models. OpenAI’s release of ChatGPT-4o in May opened up some exciting new possibilities.

Oxley also said the company is not tied to any particular large language model but will adopt systems that best serve the needs of patients.

Synchron's brain implant, called a stentrode, is inserted into a blood vessel near the motor cortex, the part of the brain that controls human movement.

The user simply thinks about moving and the BCI will interpret those thoughts to perform the desired action on the device like a click or selection using the Synchron BCI.

Synchron's BCI currently costs $50,000-$100,000, which is comparable to the cost of other implantable medical devices like pacemakers or cochlear implants.