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That video of a head transplant is fake, but maybe one day it will be real.
An animated video posted this week has narration that sounds like a late-night TV ad, but it's set in a far-off future, with the flailing arms of an octopus-like robot surgeon swiftly cutting off a dying man's head and transplanting it into a younger, healthier body.
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According to the animated video, this is BrainBridge, “a world-first revolutionary head transplant device concept that uses cutting-edge robotics and artificial intelligence to perform complete head and face transplant surgery.”
BrainBridge is not a real company, it's not incorporated anywhere. But this is more than just a provocative piece of art. The video should be understood as the first public appearance of a highly controversial plan to defeat death that has recently gained traction among life extension advocates and entrepreneurs. Read the full story.
—Antonio Regalado
Noise-canceling headphones use AI to let single voices through
Modern life is noisy, and if you hate it, noise-canceling headphones can help reduce the noise around you. But because noise-canceling headphones drown out sounds indiscriminately, you're more likely to miss the sounds you want to hear.
A new prototype AI system for these headphones aims to solve this problem: Called “Target Speech Hearing,” it lets users choose who their voice is and whether they want to hear it while all other sounds are cancelled out.
The technology is still in the proof-of-concept stage, but developers are in talks to incorporate it into a popular brand of noise-canceling earbuds and are also working on making it available for hearing aids.
—Rhiannon Williams
Flashy advances are exciting, but spinal cord injury patients need more help
—Cassandra Willard
This week I wrote about an external stimulator that delivers electrical pulses to the spinal cord to improve function in paralyzed people's hands and arms. This is not a cure; the effects are often relatively modest.
The study didn't get as much media attention as earlier, much smaller studies that focused on helping paralyzed people walk: technology that enables people to type a little faster or put their hair in a ponytail unassisted doesn't have the same appeal.
But for people with spinal cord injuries, small improvements can have a huge impact on their quality of life. So who does this technology actually benefit? Read the full story.
This story is from The Checkup, our weekly health and biotech newsletter. sign up Get it in your inbox every Thursday.
Must-read
I've scoured the internet to find today's most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories in tech.
1 Google's AI search advises putting glue on pizza
These tools are clearly not equipped to provide accurate answers to billions of users. (The Verge)
+ The $60 million that Google paid for Reddit's data is certainly suspicious. (404 Media)
+ But who bears legal responsibility here? (Vox)
+ Why you shouldn't trust AI search engines. (MIT Technology Review)
2 Russia is stepping up interference with Ukraine's Starlink service
It is disrupting Ukraine's intelligence gathering and drone attack capabilities. (NYT $)
3 Taiwan is ready to shut down chip-making machines if China invades
China is currently circling the island during military exercises. (Bloomberg)
+ Meanwhile, Chinese PC makers continue to grow. (FT$)
+ What's Chip's next move? (MIT Technology Review)
4X plans to hide users' “likes”
Elon Musk wants to encourage users to embrace “edgy” content without fear. (Insider $)
Scammer who cloned Joe Biden's voice could face $6 million fine
Regulators want to make it clear that political manipulation of AI will not be tolerated. (TechCrunch)
+ He is due to appear in court next month. (Reuters)
+ Meta says AI-generated election content is not occurring at a “systematic level.” (MIT Technology Review)
6 Former NSO Group CEO returns
Shalev Floy resigned after the US blacklisted the company. (The Intercept)
Seven Alaskan rivers turn orange
Climate change is very likely to be the cause. (WP $)
+ Limiting global warming to 1.5°C is unlikely. (New Scientist$)
8. Learn more about one of the world's rarest elements
Promethium is highly radioactive and extremely unstable. (New Scientist $)
9. Children won't develop a love for music without cell phones
Without cassette players or CDs, streaming seems to be the only option. (The Guardian)
10 AI Art Always Looks Cheap 🖼️
It's no substitute for the real thing. (Vox)
+ This artist has a monopoly on AI-generated art. And he's not happy about it. (MIT Technology Review)
Quote of the Day
“It was kind of forbidden to label space as a war zone, but that has changed.”
—Air Force General Charles “CQ” Brown explained how the U.S. is preparing to fight adversaries in space, Ars Technica reports.
The big story
How Facebook became addicted to spreading misinformation
March 2021
The Cambridge Analytica scandal broke in March 2018, ushering in Facebook's biggest publicity crisis to date. Fears were growing that the algorithms that determine what people see were amplifying fake news and hate speech, and the company created a team with the somewhat vague mandate to investigate the impact of its algorithms on society.
Joaquín Quiñonero Candela was an obvious choice. In his six years at Facebook, he created some of the first algorithms to target users with content precisely tailored to their interests, then spread those algorithms across the company. Now his mission is to make them less harmful. But his hands are tied, and the drive to make money has taken priority. Read the full story.
—Karen Hao
There are still some nice things
A place that's comfortable, fun, and light-hearted enough to brighten your day. (Any ideas?) Contact me or Tweet me.
+ Zillow is a lawless haven for residential listings, and this Twitter (sorry, X) account curates the best of them.
+ Cousin! Ebon Moss Bachalach, we love you! 🐻
+ Give me all the potato salad.
+ I'm so sad. May Kabosu, the beautiful Shiba Inu who inspired thousands of memes with her hesitant face, rest in peace.
