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☆ A single genetic tweak caused human ancestors to lose their tails 25 million years ago — but it came at a cost
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A single genetic tweak that occurred among our ancestors 25 million years ago means humans today are unable to grow a tail, according to a new study. Scientists knew that a gene called TBXT was involved in the snipping of the tail. Asep Supriatna/Getty ImagesWandering DNA snipped off our tailsThe solution, they found, was in a type of "jumping gene" called an Alu element. Scientists found two Alu elements around a part of the TBXT gene, called Exon 6. Scientists tested their findings by inserting Alu sequences in mice.

Persons: —, Himanshu Sharma, it's, we've, Asep Supriatna, Miriam Konkel, Emily Casanova, Konkel, Casanova Organizations: Service, Business, Anadolu Agency, Getty, NYU, Grossman School of Medicine, Nature, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, Science Locations: Pushkar, Rajasthan, India

☆ Daddy Longlegs Have Been Hiding Extra Eyes From Us
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Veronique Greenwood | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Guilherme Gainett, then a biologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was looking through a microscope at the embryo of a daddy longlegs when he saw it — or, rather, saw them. Daddy longlegs, the group of splendidly leggy arachnids also known as harvestmen, have been thought to have just two eyes. Arachnids include spiders, scorpions, harvestmen and other arthropods, and divining the relationships among this sprawling group of organisms is tricky. For the current study, Dr. Gainett used fluorescent tags to study the development of harvestman eyes. These findings suggest that the neural architecture that handles the daddy longlegs’ vision may be quite old.

Persons: Guilherme Gainett, Daddy longlegs, Gainett, Prashant Sharma Organizations: University of Wisconsin, Boston Children’s Hospital Locations: Madison

☆ The FDA reportedly identified quality-control issues at a Neuralink animal lab shortly after Elon Musk said the startup was cleared to start human tests
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Neuralink had said in May 2023 that it had been cleared by the FDA to begin human trials of its technology, which has since implanted its first brain chip in a person. The company's site in Texas did not have the same issues, Reuters reported, citing FDA records. An FDA spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider ahead of publication. A spokesperson for Neuralink did not respond to a request for comment from BI or Reuters. Musk said the company kicked off human trials earlier this year and successfully implanted its first chip in a patient.

Persons: —, Elon Musk's Neuralink, Neuralink, Elon Musk, Musk Organizations: Service, US Food and Drug, Reuters, Business, FDA, Elon, US Department of Agriculture, Bloomberg, Occupational Safety, Health Administration, The Boring Company, SpaceX Locations: California, Texas, Las Vegas

Without ever clicking a mouse or touching a screen, Mark selected this command on his computer simply using signals from his brain. “I figured I had two choices: I could wallow in self-pity, or I could pick myself up by the bootstraps and do what I could to help,” Mark said. Synchron’s brain implant, the one Mark has, is called a Stentrode and consists of a stent with electrode sensors that can detect electrical brain activity. That external transmitter sits right above the internal transmitter and carries the signal from Mark’s brain to the computer almost instantaneously. Earlier this month, Musk also said Neuralink’s first human trial participant can control a computer mouse with their brain.

Persons: Sanjay Gupta’s, Erin Burnett OutFront, CNN —, Mark, Lou Gehrig’s, ” Mark, Elon Musk, ”, “, Sanjay Gupta, Synchron, Tom Oxley, hardwired, he’s, Mark didn’t, “ We’d, Maria Nardozzi, ” Oxley, CNN Mark, Musk’s Neuralink, Oxley, António Guterres, ” Elon Musk, Gonzalo Fuentes, Neuralink, Musk, Hope Organizations: CNN, BCI, US Food and Drug Administration, Netflix, US Securities and Exchange Commission, United Nations, Reuters, SpaceX Locations: Neuralink, UNESCO’s, Pennsylvania

☆ Elon Musk says Neuralink's first patient can move a computer mouse 'by just thinking'
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk claims Neuralink's first human patient can move a computer mouse by thinking. The neurotech firm implanted its device into the first human patient in January. Neuralink's brain-chip implant, Telepathy, was approved for human trials by the FDA last May. AdvertisementElon Musk said Neuralink’s first human patient to receive a brain-chip implant can now move a computer mouse cursor using their mind alone. The FDA initially rejected Neuralink’s request last March to start human trials, Reuters reported, over concerns that included the chip possibly overheating.

Persons: Elon Musk, —, Musk, “ We’re, we’re, Neuralink, Neuralink’s, Neuralink didn’t Organizations: FDA, Service, Food and Drug Administration, Reuters, Business

☆ Elon Musk says first Neuralink patient can control a computer mouse through thinking
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

A patient implanted with Neuralink's brain technology can now control a computer mouse just by thinking, the company's founder Elon Musk said. "[The] patient seems to have made a full recovery with no ill effects that we are aware of and is able to control the mouse, move the mouse around the screen just by thinking," Musk said in a Spaces session on social media platform X.Neuralink is the billionaire's startup, which says it has developed a brain implant designed to help humans use their neural signals to control external technologies. The company aims to restore lost capabilities such as vision, motor function and speech. Neuralink was not immediately available for comment.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, Neuralink

☆ Mark Zuckerberg won't be lining up for a brain chip like Elon Musk's Neuralink anytime soon
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Mark Zuckerberg is in no rush to try out Elon Musk's Neuralink brain-computer interface. The Meta CEO said on a podcast Friday, "I wouldn't want to use Version 1 of that." Musk said last month that Neuralink had its first human patient receive a brain chip implant. AdvertisementMark Zuckerberg is wary of trying out brain chip implants for now. The Meta CEO discussed brain-computer interfaces on an episode of the "Morning Brew Daily" podcast released Friday.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk's, Musk, Neuralink, —, wilder Organizations: Service

☆ AI isn't energy efficient right now. This ex-Arm VP has joined a new startup to try change that.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

"We're the first company to launch off the back of what is a Tsetlin machine," Hurley told Business Insider. "We are looking at processes which are 10,000 times more efficient than neural networks when we add hardware acceleration," he said. Literal Labs' technology is developed from Yakovlev and Shafik's patents. While this process requires less energy than neural networks, the wider market has yet to catch up with alternatives. And everyone is just so sucked into neural networks that nobody has been thinking about some of the other techniques."

Persons: Noel Hurley, Hurley, Mignon, it's, Alex Yakovlev, Rishad Organizations: Cambridge, Labs, Newcastle University, Business, Yakovlev, Literal Labs

☆ The Vision Pro's scary side effect
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-11 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

The reviews are in, and the tech press is lauding the Apple Vision Pro headset for delivering on the company's promises. Apple and Meta are hoping that this virtual world will be so compelling that you won't just visit. Apple Vision Pro AppleThese are all, as the IT people say, known issues. When people adapt to a perceptual change for long enough, the real world starts to look wrong in the opposite direction. In the meantime, while he's doing his work, maybe don't forget to take that Vision Pro off once in a while.

Persons: It's, They're, you'll, Jeremy Bailenson, You've, That's, they're, techies, Bailenson's, passthrough, Bailenson, doesn't, I've, William Gibson, We've, he's, Adam Rogers Organizations: Apple, Meta, Stanford, Honda, Business

☆ 5 tips to keep your brain sharp for when you're Biden's age
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-10 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Here are five expert tips for keeping your mind sharp into your 80s and beyond. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . With the President's cognitive capabilities making headlines again, here are five top tips from experts to keep your brain sharp for when you get to be Biden's age. A 2019 study concluded that tea drinkers have higher cognitive functions and better-organized brain regions when compared to non-tea drinkers. "But learning new things helps with brain plasticity, and if you are able to keep using your brain in new ways, you can have better mental outcomes as you age."

Persons: —, Joe Biden's, Biden, you've, Talia Lerner, Jason Shepherd Organizations: Service, Business, Blue Zone, Northwestern University, University of Utah Locations: Ikaria

☆ Algorithms, bias and hallucinations: 20 important AI terms investors should know
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | In Kevinstankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +25 min

Generative AI Neural networks are the heart of the increasingly popular type of AI known as generative artificial intelligence , or gen AI for short. Both traditional AI and gen AI systems rely on data and can be used to automate decision-making tasks. Microsoft's AI virtual assistant Copilot — which went live in November — is perhaps the most prominent generative AI feature among our portfolio companies. Bias Bias is another downside to AI systems — and LLMs in particular — that users need to consider. While GPUs have the upper hand in AI training, CPUs are understood to perform AI inference well.

Persons: OpenAI's, —, We've, that's, Chirag Shah, Shah, Mark Riedl, Bruce Springsteen, Einstein, Copilot —, Springsteen, OpenAI, it's, Riedl, Harry Potter, I've, ChatGPT, University of Washington's Shah, there's, he'd, Georgia Tech's Riedl, LLMs that's, Georgia Tech's, Meta, Grace Hopper Superchip, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim Organizations: Broadcom, Microsoft, Meta, Nvidia, Apple, Chirag, University of Washington, Google, Georgia Tech's School of Interactive Computing, YouTube, Netflix, Amazon, Facebook, Reuters, U.S, University of Washington's, OpenAI, New York Times, Club, Jim Cramer's Charitable, CNBC Locations: Silicon Valley, Barcelona, U.S, WhatsApp, Istanbul, Georgia

☆ I got a dangerous surgery at 16 to stop excessive facial blushing, and it ruined my life. Decades later, I can't feel emotions.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Gary Nunn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

At 16, he got an endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy to correct his excessive facial blushing. He's now 40 and still suffering the side effects from the surgery; he can't feel emotions. I couldn't do the things I wanted to do: feel comfortable approaching a girl, speak in front of the class, do drama. AdvertisementThe surgery is most often sought to mitigate excessive sweating (usually of the palms), but sometimes it's used for facial blushing. The side effects have lasted decadesThe surgery took less than an hour, and it has changed my whole life.

Persons: He's, —, John Larsen, it'd, wasn't, I'd, It'd, There's, who've, It's, I'm, I've Organizations: Service, ETS

☆ Mastercard jumps into generative AI race with model it says can boost fraud detection by up to 300%
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

(Photo by Joan Cros Garcia/Corbis via Getty Images)Payments giant Mastercard says it has built its own proprietary generative artificial intelligence model to help thousands of banks in its network detect and root out fraudulent transactions. The company told CNBC exclusively that its new advanced AI model, Decision Intelligence Pro, will allow banks to better assess suspicious transactions on its network in real-time and determine whether they're legitimate or not. Ajay Bhalla, Mastercard's president of cyber and intelligence business unit, told CNBC that the new AI solution is a proprietary recurrent neural network — a core part of generative AI — from Mastercard built from scratch by the company's cybersecurity and anti-fraud teams. "We are using the transformer models which basically help get the power of generative AI," Bhalla told CNBC in an exclusive interview earlier this week. Mastercard's proprietary algorithm is trained on data from the roughly 125 billion transactions that go through the company's card network annually.

Persons: Joan Cros Garcia, Corbis, Ajay Bhalla, Bhalla, we've, — Organizations: MasterCard, Mobile, Congress, Getty, Mastercard, CNBC Locations: BARCELONA, SPAIN, Barcelona, Spain

☆ What to know about human brain implants
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Jen Christensen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Here’s what to know about brain implants. What is a human brain implant? Doctors implant these kinds of devices on the surface of the brain or deep with in it. Neuralink’s equipment is about the size of a coin; Synchron’s is a small stent-like device that goes into the blood vessels in the brain. In 2021, Neuralink demonstrated how this worked with a monkey named Pager, who had two of these wireless devices implanted into its brain.

Persons: CNN —, Synchron, won’t, we’ve, ”, Paul Nuyujukian, Neuralink, ” Nuyujukian, Dr, Sanjay Gupta, “ Organizations: CNN, CNN — Elon, Stanford University, CNN Health, US Food and Drug Administration

☆ You can now sign up to try a $2,000 AI headband that a startup says will help control your dreams
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Prophetic opened its bookings for users to test its Halo: a headband that aims to control dreaming. The startup claims the Halo can shoot signals to the user's brain when a wearer enters REM sleep. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . The startup claims the model can use ultrasound holograms instead of written prompts to stimulate the prefrontal cortex part of the brain. The Prophetic Halo is retailing for an estimated $2,000.

Persons: —, it's, Eric Wollberg, Wollberg, Elon Musk, Musk, Morpheus Organizations: Service, Morpheus, Business, Twitter, MORPHEUS

☆ China just revealed plans to take on Elon Musk's Neuralink
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewChina has bold ambitions to develop its own brain-computer products by 2025. The MIIT said it wants to achieve breakthroughs in hundreds of technologies by creating "iconic products" by 2025, and it includes making brain-computer interfaces like Elon Musk's Neuralink implant. China has been actively working on creating brain-computer interface devices in recent years, including ones that can rival Neuralink. AdvertisementThe SprialE brain-computer interface can be inserted without the need for surgery as it has a spiral design, allowing it to be slid in without an invasive method, the report says. The tech policy document outlining its ambitions comes after the MIIT published a road map in November of its plans to mass-produce humanoid robots by 2025.

Persons: —, Neuralink, Musk Organizations: Service, Business, Ministry of Industry, Information Technology, Elon, FDA, Tianjin University, China Electronics Corporation, China Morning Post, Tsinghua University, Independent Locations: China, Tianjin, Beijing

☆ The story of Neuralink: Elon Musk's AI brain-chip company that has implanted its first chip into a human patient
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Isobel Asher Hamilton | Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

In 2020, Neuralink showed off one of its chips embedded in a pig named Gertrude. The Neuralink device in Gertrude's brain transmitted live data during the demo as she snuffled around. Musk said the pig had been living with the chip embedded in her skull for two months. "This is solid engineering, but mediocre neuroscience," he said. Jackson told Insider following the 2020 presentation that the wireless relay from the Neuralink chip could potentially have a big impact on the welfare of animal test subjects in science, as most neural interfaces currently in use on test animals involve wires poking out through the skin.

Persons: Neuralink, Gertrude, Musk, Andrew Jackson, Jackson Organizations: Newcastle University

☆ Elon Musk's Neuralink implants brain tech in human patient for the first time
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Ashley Capoot | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The company is developing a brain implant that aims to help patients with severe paralysis control external technologies using only neural signals. The in-human clinical trial marks just one step on Neuralink's path toward commercialization. Neuralink did not disclose how many human patients will participate in its initial in-human trial. Paradromics is aiming to launch its first trial with human patients in the first half of this year. Precision Neuroscience carried out its first in-human clinical study last year.

Persons: Elon, Neuralink, Musk, Stephen Hawking, Blackrock Neurotech, Tom Oxley's Organizations: U.S . Food, Drug Administration, FDA, SpaceX, BCI, Neuroscience, Paradromics, Blackrock Locations: U.S

☆ How to strengthen the weaker side of your body
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Dana Santas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

And because muscles work in chains, imbalance-related issues can become a chain reaction, affecting other parts of the body. When it comes to unilateral strength training, dumbbells are the perfect equalizing tool, demanding matching effort from both sides. Leverage science for corrective exerciseOne of the significant differences of unilateral training compared with standard bilateral training is its unique effectiveness as a rehabilitation tool. Research has found that when you train one side of the body with unilateral training, the other side is also stimulated, and this indirect stimulation actually strengthens the nonworking side. No need for an exhaustive focus on the weaker side; by practicing unilateral exercises with equal effort, cross-education training supports the creation of balanced strength and stability.

Persons: Dana Santas, CNN —, sidedness, Maskot Organizations: Pain, CNN, Major League Baseball, UCL

☆ SoftBank leads TravelPerk's $104 million fundraising, in a bet that AI will reshape corporate travel
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

TravelPerkBarcelona-based startup TravelPerk, which helps automate corporate travel and expenses, has raised $104 million in fresh funding from Japanese tech investing giant SoftBank and a flood of other names, to invest in artificial intelligence development and new products. SoftBank invested $70 million in TravelPerk's latest round, which the company said was an extension of its "D-1" funding round. The fundraising round shows SoftBank is placing a major bet on a company driving disruption in corporate travel through new technologies, such as AI — which has seen significant buzz since the November 2022 launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT. Whereas many travel agents operate on low single digits gross margins, Meir says that TravelPerk's profit margin stood at 60% last year. TravelPerk competes with American Express, BCD Travel, SAP Concur and Navan in the corporate travel management space.

Persons: Avi Meir, TravelPerk, Felix, SoftBank, that's, Meir, Roy Hefer Organizations: SoftBank Vision, Felix Capital, American, CNBC, American Express, SAP Locations: TravelPerk Barcelona, Navan, U.S

☆ Don't worry — the machines won't be as smart as humans for a long time, because they've still got a lot to learn
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Much of today's most popular AI models, such as OpenAI's GPT-4, are trained on what's publicly available on the internet. It's worth noting that AI models exist today that are pretty effective at generating images, but these are text-to-image models, like Midjourney and Stable Diffusion. Koller also sees issues with today's LLMs. This isn't the first time doubts have been raised about the capacity of today's AI models. Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunchThis is not to say today's LLMs are useless.

Persons: —, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Bill Gates, Daphne Koller, MacArthur, Koller, Neilson Barnard, chatbots, Yann LeCun, –, today's LLMs, LLMs, that's, Kai, Fu Lee, Steve Jennings Organizations: Economic, Service, Big Tech titans, Google, Microsoft, Getty, Meta Locations: Davos, Switzerland, today's, silico

AdvertisementIntel 14th-generation Core and Core Ultra CPUs at a glanceIntel Core 14th generation: Intel's most powerful CPUs, but not by muchThe first 14th-generation Intel Core CPUs hit shelves last year. AdvertisementIntel Core 14th generation for desktopsFirst, let's look at Intel's flagship line of consumer-grade desktop CPUs, the Intel Core i5/i7/i9 14th generation. AdvertisementIntel Core Ultra: Better battery life and AI toolsThe Intel Core Ultra is entirely separate from the Intel Core 14th generation. IntelReleasing alongside the Intel Core 14th generation laptop chips are the Intel Core Ultra CPUs, also known by their codename "Meteor Lake." It's intended as a direct successor to the first Intel Core Ultra processors, and will likely be marketed as the "Intel Core Ultra 2."

Persons: it's, they're, There's Organizations: Intel, Dell, MSI, Future Publishing, Puget Systems, K, Razer, Asus, Swift, AMD, Processing Unit, CES, Raptor

☆ 2023's AI boom was about 'obvious' plays — here's how to invest in the next leg, according to Citi
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Here are four areas that are "clear beneficiaries from the coming integration of AI into everyday business and personal lives," according to Citi. AI infrastructure Key suppliers along the global semiconductor value chain are set to be big beneficiaries in 2024, Citi said. That will include chipmakers, semiconductor equipment and data centers. The continuing manufacturing and e-commerce boom will lead to the need for more automation and robotics, according to Citi. Cybersecurity Citi warned of a sinister side to the proliferation of AI: hackers using AI chatbots to write the code to carry out cyberattacks.

Persons: Kristen, there's, Cybersecurity Organizations: Nvidia, Citi, Citi Global Wealth, Semiconductor, FDA, Citi Research, Robotics, Cybersecurity Citi Locations: Singapore

☆ The tech powering ChatGPT won't make AI as smart as humans. Others might.
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But the tech powering it has limitations and may struggle to make AI that is as smart as humans. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. This means the public gets to see research faster, but it isn't necessarily reliable. AdvertisementHe gave "kudos" to Dao and Gu "for pushing on alternative sequence architectures for many years now." ChatGPT was a landmark cultural event that sparked an AI boom.

Persons: ChatGPT, —, Bill Gates, abut, Albert Gu, we've, vXumZqJsdb — Albert Gu, Gu, Dao, JAX, Jim Fan Organizations: Service, Google, Carnegie Mellon, Tri Dao, SSM, Nvidia Locations: AGI, Tri, pretraining

☆ Inside Apple’s chip lab, home to the most ‘profound change’ at the company in decades
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Katie Tarasov | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +13 min

Its most advanced silicon is primarily manufactured by one vendor, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. "We built what we call the unified memory architecture that is scalable across products," Srouji said. Apple's silicon team has grown to thousands of engineers working across labs all over the world, including in Israel, Germany, Austria, the U.K. and Japan. The primary type of chip Apple is developing is known as a system on a chip, or SoC. Apple's senior director of hardware validation Godfrey D'Souza shows off an M3 SoC in an Apple chip lab in Cupertino, California, on November 14, 2023.

Persons: John Ternus, Srouji, we're, Katie Tarasov, Andrew Evers, Ben Bajarin, Bajarin, Apple, Apple there's, Pro Max, Kaiann Drance, That's, who's, Ternus, Nvidia —, Tesla, Stacy Rasgon, Apple's, Godfrey D'Souza, Sydney, they've, Rasgon, Apple's Srouji, It's Organizations: AMD, MU, Apple Watch, U.S, Apple, Intel, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Microsoft, CNBC, Apple's, Amazon, Google, Tesla, Semiconductor, Creative, Pro, Triple, MacBook Air, Qualcomm, Nvidia, Bernstein Research, Sydney Boyo, Bluetooth, Broadcom, Samsung, Micron, Thursday Apple Locations: Cupertino , California, Israel, Germany, Austria, Japan, Silicon Valley, San Diego, Austin , Texas, AirPods, Taiwan, China, Arizona, Peoria , Arizona, Asia, Europe, U.S

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