Technology meant to read your thoughts and explore your memories is already here
In recent years, we’ve seen neurotechnologies move out of research labs and into actual use. Schools have used some devices to monitor children’s brain activity to know when they are paying attention. Police forces use others to find out if someone is guilty of a crime. Employers use them to keep workers awake and productive.
These technologies hold the wonderful promise of giving us a whole new insight into our minds. But our brain data is precious, and leaving it in the wrong hands can be dangerous. Jessica Hamzilow, our chief biotechnology correspondent, had a great call with Nita Farahani, a futurist and legal ethicist at Duke University, who has written a book discussing new rules for protecting our cognitive freedom. Read the full story.
Jessica’s story is from Checkup, her weekly newsletter that gives you the inside track on all things biotech. subscription To receive it in your inbox every Thursday.
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I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/cool stories about technology.
1 Ernie chatbot from Baidu is not impressive
China’s heavy censorship of the internet may be part of the reason. (The New York Times $)
+ The company’s shares fell after the unveiling in a lackluster manner. (Watchman)
+ Why large language models began to behave in strange and unexpected ways. (Quanta)
+ The search battle fueled by ChatGPT is bigger than Microsoft or Google. (MIT Technology Review)