A year after being approved for testing, billionaire Elon Musk’s company Neuralink has implanted its wireless brain chip into a human for the first time.

Musk announced that the patient received the implant on Sunday and was “recovering well.” The device is intended to have multiple applications, from restoring motor functionality in people to enabling a brain-computer interface. There was no independent verification of Musk’s claims and Neuralink didn’t provide too many details.

Musk has touted Neuralink as the future of technology and medicine, but ethical concerns have been raised surrounding the chip and its testing.

Here’s what you need to know about Neuralink and its human testing.

What is Neuralink and what does it do?

Neuralink is a brain chip startup founded by Musk in 2016.

A device the size of a coin is surgically implanted into the skull, with ultra-thin wires passing into the brain and developing a brain-computer interface (BCI).

The hard drive would record brain activity and send it to a device, such as a smartphone, over a standard Bluetooth connection.

The first product, called Telepathy, would allow people to control their phones or computers “just by thinking,” Musk said.

The company claims that implanting the chip into the part of the brain that controls motor functions would also allow people to overcome neurological disorders.

Musk said the first users would be those who lost the use of their limbs.

What is the human testing phase of Neuralink?

The human testing phase will collect data on safety and effectiveness while helping to improve the device.

Musk said on X on Monday that the “initial results show promising detection of neuron spikes.” This means that neurons in the body send electrical and chemical signals to each other. Such activity allows us to carry out our everyday functions from eating to speaking.

When Neuralink first began looking for study participants in September, the company was looking for people with diseases of the spinal cord, an important part of the body’s nervous system.

The US Food and Drug Administration approved human trials in May 2023 as part of federal investigations into the safety of its animal experiments.

The first person received an implant from @Neuralink yesterday and is recovering well.

Initial results show promising detection of neuron spikes.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 29, 2024

What tests has Neuralink conducted in the past?

Neuralink tested its chip on monkeys and pigs.

The company showed several monkeys “playing” simple video games or moving a cursor around a screen through their Neuralink implants.

Although Neuralink says no monkeys have died as a result of their implants, there have been reports of problems with the implants in monkeys, including paralysis, seizures and brain swelling.

Are other companies involved in such projects?

According to an online database of active clinical trials in the United States, about 40 brain-computer interface trials are currently underway.

Australia-based Synchron implanted its device in a US patient in July 2022. No incision is required in the skull to install the synchronous implant.

Other studies target medical needs, while Musk’s company goes beyond that and aims to give people control of their smartphones and devices.

What ethical concerns are there with Neuralink?

Experts have raised concerns about Neuralink’s brain chip experiments on animals, as well as possible risks associated with brain surgery, such as brain bleeding or seizures.

They add that Musk’s vision for implants raises privacy and surveillance concerns. Few details are available about users’ ability to maintain control over their personal data and neural activity.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Transportation fined Neuralink for failing to register as a transporter of dangerous material – primate brain implants, according to federal agency documents reviewed by Reuters.