Man controls Amazon Alexa with his thoughts, ‘It gives me back the independence’

With the help of a brain implant, a patient with a degenerative disease was able to command Amazon's Alexa digital assistant with his mind. Announcing the news on Monday, the company behind the technological innovation let him stream shows and control devices with only his thoughts.

The brain-computer interface company, Synchron, said that an implant placed in a blood vessel on the surface of a 64-year-old man's brain enabled him to mentally "tap" icons on an Amazon Fire tablet.

According to the New York-based company, the patient is living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ALS is a degenerative nerve disease that leads to muscle weakness and paralysis.

However, with the implant, the company said, he managed to make video calls, play music, stream shows, control smart home devices like lights, shop online, and read books by directing Alexa with his mind.

"To be able to manage important aspects of my environment and control access to entertainment gives me back the independence that I'm losing," the patient, named only as Mark, said in a release.

The demonstration aimed to illustrate how customers could utilize their thoughts alone to operate smart homes equipped with Alexa-compatible devices, including door cameras, plugs, and thermostats, as stated by the company.

In the release, the founder and chief executive of Synchron, Tom Oxley, said, “While many smart home systems rely on voice or touch, we are sending control signals directly from the brain.”

“Patients can interact with devices in their home hands and voice-free, using only their thoughts,” he added.

Elon Musk's Neuralink

Several companies, including Elon Musk's Neuralink, are working on connecting brains with computers.

Neuralink in January installed a brain implant in a man paralyzed after a diving accident. Musk, who also owns Tesla and X, touted the implant as a success.

In July he said his startup is "moving on" to a second test patient as its tech improves.