Neuralink to Begin Clinical Trials for Thought-to-Text Technology

Neuralink has announced that in October it will begin a new phase of clinical trials in the United States, aiming to convert human thoughts directly into text through an implanted device. According to the article, the study is being conducted under an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, with the primary goal of helping patients with speech disorders or aphasia communicate more fluidly.

Neuralink has already launched five clinical trials across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates, and this sixth trial is the first explicitly targeted at speech impairments.

The company’s president, DJ Seo, stated: “If you are thinking of something, we will be able to detect it and translate it into words.” Within three to four years, the article notes, the first healthy volunteers are expected to elect to have the device implanted, potentially enabling direct communication between human thought and large language models.