Episode #27: Brain implants, Neuralink, dumb AI, Drops of God, and Ryan

Rick and Shaun discuss rehabilitation engineering and brain-computer interfaces. Also, how dumb (and witty) AI can be, and an AI reader called Ryan replaces Shaun as chief newsreader.

Jun 07, 2023

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00:00 Preamble

Despite suffering with ‘Piscean’ knees (is that a thing?), Rick returned home from his bike ride not just unscathed, but rejuvenated and closer to his friends. It sounds like he had fun, though sampling a sushi buffet at the outset probably wasn’t the wisest move (and he calls his newsletter Wiser!).

03:53 Tempting Tech

Rick's tech of the week is the apple test, which is a way to feel better about the so-called impending doom of AI. Ask any AI to complete a simple task, like writing 10 sentences that end in “apple” and you’d be surprised how rubbish they all are! BTW, did we say apple Pi? I think we missed the opportunity, so thank goodness for show notes ☺️

And what does Shaun have to share that links AI with the film Good Will Hunting? Must be this LinkedIn post.

But here’s what he really wanted to mention … the Gita robots! Who would have thought it would be Piaggio behind this?

09:10 Tech News

Jaguar Land Rover-owner Tata will open an electric car battery plant in the UK.
Sony is back in the mobile gaming space with its Project Q handheld console.
The emirate of Abu Dhabi is going open source with its a large-scale AI model called Falcon 40B.
Twitter has withdrawn from the EU's voluntary code against disinformation.
Nvidia's shares near a trillion-dollar valuation following impressive quarterly results.
Neuralink has received US FDA clearance for its first-in-human clinical trial.
General Motors plans to phase out Apple CarPlay and Android Auto technologies.

This week’s tech news was read by AI Ryan Weston, some say he’s a younger, more handsome version of Shaun, but I couldn’t possibly comment.

10: 37 The search for better versions of ourselves

Let’s dive into the field of rehabilitation engineering, which focuses on enhancing the lives of people with disabilities. This usually means things like prosthetics, orthotics and assistive technologies. Going a step further is BCI, which stands for brain-computer interface.

Rick and Shaun talk about cybernetics expert Kevin Warwick, who is regarded as the first guy to implant technology into himself. Also, and in more recent news, Gert-Jan Oskam has electronic implants wirelessly transmit his thoughts to his legs and feet via a second implant on his spine.

Rick and Shaun move on to explain what Neuralink is and what its recent US FDA approval means for continued scientific research in the field of brain implants.

Did you know that Bluetooth technology is also used in biomedical engineering?

The use of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) raises ethical questions around social stigma, privacy, mental health, and potential psychological distress associated with brain-to-brain communication. While the US Food and Drug Administration has the ultimate control over BCI development for medical applications such as those related to Parkinson's disease, ALS and Alzheimer's, regulators may not be keeping adequate pace, which may lead to inconsistent levels of oversight.

Ethical concerns could also arise should BCIs be used to enhance the cognitive or motor abilities of otherwise able-bodied people, leading to questions of whether chips could create ‘super humans’, or lead to discrimination.

OUTRO

Apple TV show Ted Lasso came to an end recently, and Shaun thinks Rick should carry on watching (despite Rick being put off by the off-key season three opener). Shaun has loved Drops of God (also Apple TV), which ended recently. And Rick has thoroughly enjoyed Succession, another series to end its run this month (find it on Sky or Now TV). Has Rick watched Robot & Frank yet? Of course he hasn’t 😄

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