6 ms·

Looks like Bloomberg just posted their pre-written article on accident: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-17/elon-musk-s-neuralink-says-it-s-read

Looks like Bloomberg just posted their pre-written article on accident: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-17/elon-musk-s-neuralink-says-it-s-ready-to-begin-brain-surgery https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-17/elon-musk...

JumpCrisscross 7y ago
> A wire attached to a USB-C port in its head transmitted its thoughts to a nearby computer Any speculation around why USB-C was used? Or why this was a detail Neuralink wanted to message on?
- confluence 7y ago
  Show that it is easily programmable and hackable by end users, like an Arduino.
  - asadlionpk 7y ago
    Arduino can process USB now? I remember back then atmega chips could not handle a usb driver due to clock speed.
    - thesmok 7y ago
      Arduino Uno has had native USB support since 2010. It's not USB3, of course.
- throw20102010 7y ago
  Full speed USB-C allows for high-bandwidth and easy to plug in. It's a pretty good connector if you don't need severe weather resistance. Using off the shelf hardware saves time for the scientists to develop more meaningful parts of the system. Using off the shelf hardware makes it seem a little less hacky than if they were running a bunch of jumper wires off a DB-25 connector from an old printer.
- jjeaff 7y ago
  Why pay extra for a special purpose cable to plug your skull into the matrix when you can just get a 99 cent one off Alibaba?
  - txcwpalpha 7y ago
    One reason I can think of: a 99 cent one off of alibaba might deliver a 100 volt jolt directly to a device that is electrically connected to your brain, killing you instantly. I'm all for universal standards, but this really does seem like a case where the connection should be a clean sheet (maybe even proprietary) design where safety parameters can be tightly controlled. My guess is that they're using USB during the development phase for ease of development (they probably just haven't spent the time on making a different connector yet). I would be very surprised to see this actually go to market with a USB-C port. Given the notorious issues with USB-C cables, I would be surprised if the FDA even approved a device with a user-accessible USB-C port.
    - josu 7y ago
      Nope, the Verge article said that it will a WiFi connection.
    - Tepix 7y ago
      I don't see how a (passive) cable can create a 100volt jolt out of thin air.
    - jjeaff 7y ago
      I agree. I was being sarcastic.
- camjohnson26 7y ago
  Because it's a buzzword that people know and Musk wants normal people to feel like they understand what he's doing.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- taneq 7y ago
  You can plug it in either way around so it's easy to insert? /s
- andygates 7y ago
  Researchers typically use what's easily available, cheap and well understood. Back in the day it was serial connectors. It's just a bog-standard connector. A mature product may well use a proprietary connector that isolates against brain-zapping, has better shielding, has no snap-off parts, etc.
- senectus1 7y ago
  how terrifying. given USB C as a "standard" is a complete mess atm...
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
kregasaurusrex 7y ago
>“We will painlessly laser-drill the holes into the skull, place the threads, plug the hole with the sensor, and then you go home,” he says. “It’ll basically be an experience like getting Lasik.” Maybe I've read a bit too much cyberpunk lore in my day, but this sounds incredibly ambitious. Can't wait for the livestream to start!
- leggomylibro 7y ago
  As someone who had a magnet inserted and eventually removed from a finger: wait for the 2nd or 3rd revision. The first versions of the magnet implants had an unnerving tendency to shatter or have their neutral coating breach. And we're talking about the brain here - any damage caused by implanted devices may not be nearly as obvious as an exploded finger. I never miss an opportunity to trot out this quote from Alpha Centauri: >I think, and my thoughts cross the barrier into the synapses of the machine - just as the good doctor intended. But what I cannot shake, and what hints at things to come, is that thoughts cross back. In my dreams the sensibility of the machine invades the periphery of my consciousness. Dark. Rigid. Cold. Alien. Evolution is at work here, but just what is evolving remains to be seen.
  - the_seraphim 7y ago
    That quote is cold and scary
  - shostack 7y ago
    If I think about how omnipresent computers and data are in my life now, I wonder how much we can use that as a starting point for what some of that evolution might look like. For example... - I find myself trying to memorize fewer things if I can easily reference them digitally later - My expectations for having answers at my fingertips has grown such that not having internet or cell service causes anxiety - My communication is increasingly in a pure visual format, condensing complex ideas, concepts, emotions etc. to a pic or gif. Further, my concept of a photo has bifurcated into more permanent photos I care about, and more ephemeral "pics" that get forgotten about. TBD whether I'd say my overall communication throughout speed has increased - Phantom phone vibrations when I don't have my device on me - Shortened attention span due to the wealth of data immediately available, but also many notifications vying for my attention - A tendency to avoid situations where I'd be without electricity long term - The ability to enjoy virtual experiences in a way that delivers some of the enjoyment of in-person experiences (think socializing in online games)
throwaway9d0291 7y ago
By accident, not "on accident": https://writingexplained.org/on-accident-or-by-accident https://writingexplained.org/on-accident-or-by-accident https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=by+accident%2Con+accident https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=by+accident%2C...
- mrmonkeyman 7y ago
  Both are OK. Screw opinions.
- mclightning 7y ago
  indeed! I thought some crazy accident happened with the brain implant
- Malice 7y ago
  Irregardless of your wishes, language evolves. Parts of the US use "on".
  - grewil2 7y ago
    The everlasting conflict between descriptive and normative linguists.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
  - throwaway9d0291 7y ago
    I'm aware. The first link I gave says as much. However while it's accepted in regional spoken US English, it's not accepted in written English, even US English. As for evolution, language does indeed evolve but only when changes are accepted by a significant number of speakers. No matter how much you wish it, you can't simply start forcing a linguistic change on society without society agreeing. If you start to spell "agree" as "agrii" for example, nearly all English speakers will (rightly) tell you that you're wrong, you can't just respond to them with "language evolves". "On accident" is still rare enough that we have a choice to reject it and that's the choice I'm making. Also, remember that there are non-Americans on this site (I'm one of them). To us, this is simply incorrect. We don't have exposure to this kind of US English in most of the American media we consume (TV, movies etc.).

JumpCrisscross 7y ago

> A wire attached to a USB-C port in its head transmitted its thoughts to a nearby computer Any speculation around why USB-C was used? Or why this was a detail Neuralink wanted to message on?

confluence 7y ago
Show that it is easily programmable and hackable by end users, like an Arduino.
- asadlionpk 7y ago
  Arduino can process USB now? I remember back then atmega chips could not handle a usb driver due to clock speed.
  - thesmok 7y ago
    Arduino Uno has had native USB support since 2010. It's not USB3, of course.
throw20102010 7y ago
Full speed USB-C allows for high-bandwidth and easy to plug in. It's a pretty good connector if you don't need severe weather resistance. Using off the shelf hardware saves time for the scientists to develop more meaningful parts of the system. Using off the shelf hardware makes it seem a little less hacky than if they were running a bunch of jumper wires off a DB-25 connector from an old printer.
jjeaff 7y ago
Why pay extra for a special purpose cable to plug your skull into the matrix when you can just get a 99 cent one off Alibaba?
- txcwpalpha 7y ago
  One reason I can think of: a 99 cent one off of alibaba might deliver a 100 volt jolt directly to a device that is electrically connected to your brain, killing you instantly. I'm all for universal standards, but this really does seem like a case where the connection should be a clean sheet (maybe even proprietary) design where safety parameters can be tightly controlled. My guess is that they're using USB during the development phase for ease of development (they probably just haven't spent the time on making a different connector yet). I would be very surprised to see this actually go to market with a USB-C port. Given the notorious issues with USB-C cables, I would be surprised if the FDA even approved a device with a user-accessible USB-C port.
  - josu 7y ago
    Nope, the Verge article said that it will a WiFi connection.
  - Tepix 7y ago
    I don't see how a (passive) cable can create a 100volt jolt out of thin air.
  - jjeaff 7y ago
    I agree. I was being sarcastic.
camjohnson26 7y ago
Because it's a buzzword that people know and Musk wants normal people to feel like they understand what he's doing.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
taneq 7y ago
You can plug it in either way around so it's easy to insert? /s
andygates 7y ago
Researchers typically use what's easily available, cheap and well understood. Back in the day it was serial connectors. It's just a bog-standard connector. A mature product may well use a proprietary connector that isolates against brain-zapping, has better shielding, has no snap-off parts, etc.
senectus1 7y ago
how terrifying. given USB C as a "standard" is a complete mess atm...
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]

kregasaurusrex 7y ago

>“We will painlessly laser-drill the holes into the skull, place the threads, plug the hole with the sensor, and then you go home,” he says. “It’ll basically be an experience like getting Lasik.” Maybe I've read a bit too much cyberpunk lore in my day, but this sounds incredibly ambitious. Can't wait for the livestream to start!

leggomylibro 7y ago
As someone who had a magnet inserted and eventually removed from a finger: wait for the 2nd or 3rd revision. The first versions of the magnet implants had an unnerving tendency to shatter or have their neutral coating breach. And we're talking about the brain here - any damage caused by implanted devices may not be nearly as obvious as an exploded finger. I never miss an opportunity to trot out this quote from Alpha Centauri: >I think, and my thoughts cross the barrier into the synapses of the machine - just as the good doctor intended. But what I cannot shake, and what hints at things to come, is that thoughts cross back. In my dreams the sensibility of the machine invades the periphery of my consciousness. Dark. Rigid. Cold. Alien. Evolution is at work here, but just what is evolving remains to be seen.
- the_seraphim 7y ago
  That quote is cold and scary
- shostack 7y ago
  If I think about how omnipresent computers and data are in my life now, I wonder how much we can use that as a starting point for what some of that evolution might look like. For example... - I find myself trying to memorize fewer things if I can easily reference them digitally later - My expectations for having answers at my fingertips has grown such that not having internet or cell service causes anxiety - My communication is increasingly in a pure visual format, condensing complex ideas, concepts, emotions etc. to a pic or gif. Further, my concept of a photo has bifurcated into more permanent photos I care about, and more ephemeral "pics" that get forgotten about. TBD whether I'd say my overall communication throughout speed has increased - Phantom phone vibrations when I don't have my device on me - Shortened attention span due to the wealth of data immediately available, but also many notifications vying for my attention - A tendency to avoid situations where I'd be without electricity long term - The ability to enjoy virtual experiences in a way that delivers some of the enjoyment of in-person experiences (think socializing in online games)

throwaway9d0291 7y ago

By accident, not "on accident": https://writingexplained.org/on-accident-or-by-accident https://writingexplained.org/on-accident-or-by-accident https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=by+accident%2Con+accident https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=by+accident%2C...

mrmonkeyman 7y ago
Both are OK. Screw opinions.
mclightning 7y ago
indeed! I thought some crazy accident happened with the brain implant
Malice 7y ago
Irregardless of your wishes, language evolves. Parts of the US use "on".
- grewil2 7y ago
  The everlasting conflict between descriptive and normative linguists.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
- throwaway9d0291 7y ago
  I'm aware. The first link I gave says as much. However while it's accepted in regional spoken US English, it's not accepted in written English, even US English. As for evolution, language does indeed evolve but only when changes are accepted by a significant number of speakers. No matter how much you wish it, you can't simply start forcing a linguistic change on society without society agreeing. If you start to spell "agree" as "agrii" for example, nearly all English speakers will (rightly) tell you that you're wrong, you can't just respond to them with "language evolves". "On accident" is still rare enough that we have a choice to reject it and that's the choice I'm making. Also, remember that there are non-Americans on this site (I'm one of them). To us, this is simply incorrect. We don't have exposure to this kind of US English in most of the American media we consume (TV, movies etc.).