It has come to light that visually impaired YouTuber OneshotHansol (real name Kim Han-sol) has applied to take part in a clinical trial by U.S. company Neuralink, led by Elon Musk, drawing significant attention.

YouTuber OneshotHansol, who has 1.68 million subscribers, uploaded a video to his YouTube channel titled, “They asked if I could come to the U.S., so I said I could. Clinical trial to implant a chip in my brain (not clickbait).”

In the video, he said he personally applied for Neuralink’s “Blindsight” clinical trial currently under development. He exchanged emails with the company and later received a reply asking whether he would be able to visit the United States. He added that he expressed his intention to participate in the clinical trial.



Blindsight is a device designed so that the brain, rather than the eyes, directly receives visual information. It reportedly works by implanting a coin-sized chip in the brain that stimulates the visual cortex with electrical signals.

OneshotHansol described it as “a technology that makes the brain see instead of the eyes.” He said he heard that the surgery is performed by a robot and takes about one hour.

He also mentioned concerns. “The technology is really great, but I worry about the possibility of abuse,” he said, adding, “I’m anxious about whether there could be situations where thoughts are read or the system is hacked.”

He shared his thoughts on the cost issue as well. “We must not end up in a world where only people with money can open their eyes, and people without money cannot,” he said, implying that the opportunity to regain vision should not differ depending on economic conditions. He continued, “In the future, if I am in a more comfortable financial position, I want to help cover surgery costs for people in difficult circumstances.” Jokingly, he added, “If that doesn’t work out, I’ll confront Musk directly.”



Neuralink is a brain-computer interface (BCI) development company founded in 2016. Musk, along with scientists and engineers, participated as a small founding team. The company has been researching technology that implants a device in the brain to read and transmit neural signals. Its clinical trials on humans received regulatory approval in May 2023.

Musk announced in January 2024 that the company had successfully implanted the device. He recently said, “The goal is to enable even those who have completely lost their vision, if their visual cortex is intact, to see at first with low resolution and, over time, with increasingly clearer images.”

OneshotHansol lost his sight later in life. In 2010, when he was a high school student, he noticed vision problems on his school bus. Within two to three months, he lost his sight completely. He now continues his activities by sharing the daily life of a visually impaired person and his life with his guide dog.

Popular News