"We're not building a BCI to control Spotify or to watch Netflix," the CEO of medical device startup Synchron tersely told Engadget via videocall last week. "There's all this hype and excitement about BCI, about where it might go," Oxley continued. "But the reality is, what's it gonna do for patients? We describe this problem for patients, not around wanting to super-augment their brain or body, but wanting to restore the fundamental agency and autonomy that [able-bodied people] take for granted." Around 31,000 Americans currently live with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) with another 5,000 diagnosed every year. Nearly 300,000 Americans suffer from spinal cord paralysis, and another approximately 18,000 people join those ranks annually.

A paralyzed man has become the first human to have electrodes implanted in his brain's sensory cortex, allowing him to'feel' his robotic arm as it manipulates various objects. Sensory input is crucial in understanding how to hold an object or if its in danger of slipping. In a series of tests, Copeland was tasked with picking up cylinders, spheres and cubes and placing them on a box. No longer required just to rely on sight, Nathan Copeland can complete tasks in about half the time it used to take. With stimulation of his sensory cortex, Copeland was able to pick up a glass of water, pour it into another cup and casually place it down in under 24 seconds.