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Neuralink’s first brain-chip patient plays online chess
Elon Musk’s brain-chip startup Neuralink livestreamed their first patient implanted with a chip playing online chess with their mind. The 29-year-old patient Noland Arbaugh had received the implant from in January and was paralysed from his shoulder due to a diving accident. Arbaugh was playing chess on his laptop and was able to move the cursor using the Neuralink device. He later said that the technology wasn’t flawless and there was still work to be done but already lifechanging for him. Experts said that while what Neuralink had done wasn’t revolutionary yet, it was a good starting point.
Last month, it was reported that the FDA had found quality control issues at the startup after it was cleared to conduct human trials.
The rise of Mixed Reality
In the late 1960s, Ivan Sutherland, a computer scientist designed the first-ever head-mounted display, along with his student. While the device was very heavy and large, it became the blueprint of what these headsets look like now. Two decades later, headsets were finally being introduced into companies like Boeing to push productivity and for training.
In the early 2010s, a different iteration of mixed reality devices emerged in the form of Google Glass which was eventually shelved in 2022. Then, Meta built the Oculus Rift VR, which was later rebranded as the Meta Quest. The company later integrated mixed reality capabilities into the Quest to build the version of it we see now. Despite the steep pricing, Apple’s Vision Pro is a big step ahead in mixed reality technology.
Meta, Microsoft join Epic Games-Apple lawsuit
Meta, Microsoft, Elon Musk’s X and Match Group have all joined Epic Games’ protest against Apple, on Wednesday. The Fortnite video game maker alleged that Apple had violated the injunction passed in September 2021 by making it hard to direct customers to cheaper means to pay for digital content. Apple has refused to comment on the complaint.
Epic Games had sued Apple in 2020 saying it violated antitrust law by requiring consumers to buy apps through the App Store and charging developers up to 30% commissions on purchases. The injunction asked Apple to direct consumers to alternative payment options. But last week, Epic said that the high fee effectively discouraged them to doing this.
