I’m Kenneth Shock. I live in Alberta with ALS. I’m the 21st participant in Neuralink’s BCI trials, and the second in the VOICE study.
ALS took my natural voice. The implant is helping me talk again — not by magic, and not overnight. Thought-to-speech still feels like science fiction some days. Then I remember I’m living it.
This publication is the long form of what I already share on X. Threads are good for a moment. A blog is better when the thing needs context: what the week actually looked like, what the hardware does and does not do, which “miracle” claims I ignore, and how a wheelchair, a MacBook, and a lot of stubbornness fit together.
What you’ll get here
• Lived ALS, without the pity script
• Neuralink / VOICE as a participant, not a spokesman
• The boring-useful stuff: access tech, communication, energy, humor
• Occasional 3D printer and garage-tech tangents, because I still get to have hobbies
What this is not
• Medical advice
• A Neuralink press office
• A demand that you be inspired
ALS sucks. My life doesn’t. If you want the short version, I’m @Cyborg21 on X. If you want the version that doesn’t have to fit in a post, subscribe.
Kenneth
Quick facts
Name: Kenneth Shock
Handle: Cyborg 21 (@Cyborg21)
Home: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (born Spokane, WA; US/Canada dual citizen; not presently a US resident)
Trial: Neuralink overall participant 21 · VOICE speech-restoration participant 2
Implant: January 2026, UT Southwestern, Dallas
Voice reconstruction: Grok (earlier: ElevenLabs)
What I write: lived ALS + VOICE as a participant, not a spokesman
Who is Cyborg 21?
Cyborg 21 is me — Kenneth Shock of Alberta, Canada. I’m Neuralink’s 21st BCI trial participant and the second person in the VOICE thought-to-speech / speech-restoration study. Full answer: Who is Cyborg 21?
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