Tech may be dystopian at times, there are also some amazing, feel-good stories.
First the video, then some details:
If you didn't have time to watch the whole thing, let me zero in on this quote:
I believe that God has put me in this position to serve others. I have not always understood why God afflicted me with ALS, but with time I am learning to trust His plan for me. I am a better man because of ALS. I am a better disciple of Jesus Christ because of ALS. I am closer to my amazing wife, literally and figuratively, because of ALS. I get to work with the brilliant people at Neuralink to do really interesting work, all because of ALS, and because we listened when the Holy Spirit told us to move to Arizona, where Neuralink ended up opening their first site.
If you peruse Smith's channel, you'll see that he is passionate about Mormon theology, but let's stay out of the weeds for one article (I'm talking to you, comment section!).
Back to the quote:
Don't get me wrong: ALS still really sucks, but I am talking about the big picture. That is what I have learned. God loves me and my family. He has answered our prayers in unexpected ways. He has blessed my kids and our family. So I am learning to trust that God knows what He is doing. The big picture is: I am happy.
Smith is the third person to receive this transplant. Elon Musk, the CEO of Neuralink, is rolling out the tech to those who suffer from paralysis, with plans to expand the company's offerings to restore sight to the blind.
Smith suffers from ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, sometimes referred to as "Lou Gehrig's disease" because of the legendary baseball player who died of complications related to the illness), where individuals gradually lose muscle control and speech capabilities. the average life expectancy after diagnosis is two to five years, though a small number of people survive for 20 years or more.
From Newsweek:
The Neuralink device, which Smith described as about the size of 'five U.S. quarters in a stack,' is implanted in the skull and connected to the brain's motor cortex, which controls the body's movement, through flexible threads.
These threads detect neural activity and transmit the signals wirelessly to external computing systems, where machine learning algorithms interpret them into actionable commands.
Smith spent time on X Monday holding a Q&A in which he answered users' questions ... with his mind.
Inspiring to see him offer glory to God in the midst of everything he's gone through. ✊
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