Tear-jerker in the best possible way. It’s a short doc but if you need even shorter, just watch the 5 min. mark.
Thanks to Tim Ferriss for putting this on my radar.
Trailer for “Speaking With The Mind”
You Can’t Make This Sh!t Up
- Terry has ALS and is losing his ability to speak. Neuralink implanted a device in the speech motor region of his brain. The implant has about 3,000 channels recording neural signals.
- Terry first trains the system by trying to say sentences even though the people in the room don’t need to understand him. The software is learning from his brain signals and his intent.
- Then comes the money ball around the 5-minute mark: Terry’s wife realizes he is just thinking the words and they’re appearing on the screen. He thinks “I love you,” and she hears it spoken aloud.
Watch “Speaking With The Mind”
You can watch “Speaking With The Mind” for free on Neuralink’s YouTube channel.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 90/100
Release Date: September 18, 2026
Director’s Note: This is a Neuralink-produced short about Terry, a participant in the company’s VOICE clinical trial. Neuralink says its N1 Implant is an investigational brain-computer interface being studied as a way for people with severe speech impairment to turn intended speech into text or spoken words. The device is investigational and has not been approved by the FDA.
Other Unique Stuff
- Neuralink says its first human participant received an implant in January 2024. Multiple people with ALS and spinal-cord injuries have since received N1 implants.
- This is still experimental technology. Neuralink explicitly says its devices are investigational, have not been approved by the FDA or other regulatory authorities, and Terry’s experience may not represent what other participants will experience.
Wrap Up:
“Speaking With The Mind” is barely seven minutes long, but the 5-minute mark wrecked me. Forget the brain implant for a second—the real story is a wife hearing her husband tell her he loves her.
Thanks for reading!
Heather Fenty, Guest Writer, Daily Doc