This brain implant is now powered in part by chat GP T. It's designed to help people living with paralysis, communicate faster, easier and more independently on their digital devices using only their thoughts. We spoke with Synchron s founding Ceo Tom Oxley and pioneering patient Mark who is featured in the demo video to find out what it's like to use where the integration of A I and brain implants may be headed and what comes next? It's an amazing realization that the mind can do what we're doing with it. Probably the coolest thing I've ever been involved with. Mark is one of only 10 people in the world who have been implanted with Synchron brain computer interface BC. For short, as part of the company's clinical trials, I'm an A OS patient. Currently, I was diagnosed in 2021. The use of my hands is almost gone. Synchron BC is designed to make it easier for people like Mark to continue using their phones, computers and other devices independently by connecting those devices directly to their brains. I can talk to you with. The addition of A I is seen as a way to make communication through these devices faster by taking in the relevant context. Like what was last said in a conversation and anticipating answers a person might want to respond with rather than typing out individual words, it will give me options for parts of sentences and with one click, I've got all that filled in. Mark has a refresh button he can use if he doesn't like his A I answers. And he's noticed that through using the A I, it seems to have gotten better at providing options more in line with things. He might say every once in a while it'll drop an F bomb, which I kind of tend to do occasionally. So, Synchron Ceo Tom Oxley tells me the company has been experimenting with different A I models for about a year. But the release of chat GP T 40 in May raised some interesting new possibilities. Open A I showed a man that was vision impaired using the system to navigate around the road. It's heading your way on the left side of the road. Get ready to wave it down. You could use audio and visual and text and they can receive them all at once to present to you. What's the next thing that you wanna do? And I'm predicting it's this based upon the information cos I could hear what your partner was just saying. I saw the text message just come in and then the BC I navigates around the prompts and then chooses which prompt for the next move. Ley says that the chat GP T integration only require a software update for synchron. So there's no need to change the hardware or get new implants. We're trying to bring all of the infer and, and compute out of the body so that we can continue to offer upgrades. Oxley also says the company isn't tied down to any particular large language model in the fast moving field of A I. The systems that best serve the needs of their patients is what Synchron will adapt. We want to enable our users to engage in natural speeds of conversations. Often people who have disability or motor impairment are left behind. We want to bring them back into the conversation using digital means, stare at it and think about moving for a long time and it'll start zooming in. Yeah and release. So you've made a click, your first click with your brain. Synchron BC is implanted inside a blood vessel near the brain's motor cortex, the part of our brain that controls our movements in order to make a click or a selection with the synchron BC users think about moving and the BC interprets those thoughts and transmits them wirelessly to take the desired action on the user's device. What the fun fact, Synchron BC is unique in that it's based on pre existing medical technologies like stents, catheters, allowing it to be inserted into the brain without the need for open brain surgery. Imagine having to ask someone to pick up your phone to write a message or do something. You're always having to go through the lens of another person. One of the big goals is to be able to utilize the technology on their own. I would encourage anybody who sees this video that maybe in a similar situation where they are paralyzed or can't use their own. There's hope synchro BC is expected to cost between 50 to $100,000 that's comparable with the cost of other implanted devices like cardiac pacemakers or cochlear implants. There haven't yet been any implantable brain computer interfaces that have earned market approval from the FDA something. Synchron hopes to change while the process may take several more years. Synchron Stro BC is already making an impact. I wake up with two choices in the morning. I can wallow in self pity because of my situation or I can do something about it, not gonna be a cure but whatever I can do to help others. I think that's why we're here as always. Thanks so much for watching. I'm your host, Jessie Earl. See you next time with the family.