Elon Musk’s chip in the brain of an ALS patient, what has changed: the improvements

Schneider experienced difficulties made worse by the contextual and constant accumulation of daily difficulties, such as the use of voice dictation which very often failed due to background noise. In June 2025 he underwent neurosurgical surgery at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, where the clinical trial criteria were also extended to ALS patients. “I had nothing to lose,” he explained, describing his decision to participate in the clinical trial.

The operation, which lasted less than 5 hours, involved the insertion of 120 ultra-thin wires into the left motor cortex using a high-precision robotic system. Thanks to this technology, Jake can now control a cursor, write text, and use electronic devices without any physical inputsignificantly improving one’s ability to communicate and interact, the Neuralink experts illustrate in the note. Among the most relevant results, as he himself declared, the possibility of returning to carrying out daily activities and interacting with one’s child through digital games, recovering a significant part of the autonomy lost with the progression of the disease. Daily 2-4 hour sessions with Neuralink engineers make him feel part of a larger work, giving him a purpose back.

The case of Jake Schneider is part of the broader research path on neurotechnology promoted by Musk through Neuralink, with the aim of “developing solutions capable of increasing the autonomy of people suffering from paralysis and neurological diseases”, we read. Although the technology is still in the experimental phase and subject to rigorous clinical protocols, the first results according to the company’s experts “show the potential of brain-computer interfaces in improving the quality of life of patients”.