Synchron, a neurotech competitor to Elon Musk's Neuralink, announced this week that one of its patients has controlled an Apple Vision Pro via an implant.
Zoom in: The patient, Mark, has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a disease that causes people to lose control of their muscles.
He received an implant from Synchron a year ago. Over the past few months, his direct thoughts have allowed him to watch Apple TV, play Solitaire and create art.
The intrigue: While Neuralink requires brain surgery, Synchron uses a stent-like device that is delivered through a vein to the surface of the brain's motor cortex, per CNBC.
Front-row first class and economy spots are some of travelers' favorite airplane seats, new data finds.
Driving the news: Seats 1A, 7F and 7A — all front-row window seats in their respective classes — are the most popular options based on a typical Boeing 737-800 seat map, per Upgraded Points' recent survey.
A group of more than 200 venture capital investors, founders and tech leaders pledged to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election on Wednesday.
The big picture: The largely Democratic-leaning Silicon Valley investors, organized under the name VCsForKamala, represent billions of dollars in assets and appear to be standing up as a counter to the chunk of tech billionaires lining up behind Republican nominee, former President Trump.
GE Aerospace is continuing its 100-plus-year tradition of innovation to provide new capabilities to the U.S. military.
In a recent interview, GE Aerospace vice president of Edison Works advanced products David Tweedie talked about the company's cutting-edge technologies, ongoing projects and future plans.
Taco Bell is aiming to roll out AI drive-thru ordering at its restaurants globally — and it'll start this year with hundreds of U.S. locations.
Why it matters: Fast-food restaurants are grappling with labor shortages and AI could help with that — though it'll raise questions about jobs being replaced.
Google's new ad for AI, featuring a dad using the Gemini chatbot to help his daughter write a fan letter to an Olympic gold medalist, is roiling the internet.
The big picture: A lot of viewers see the ad as a tone-deaf portrait of how AI could suck the humanity out of a tradition — the fan note — that's supposed to be handwritten and heartfelt.
Driving the news: OpenAI said the feature, dubbed Advanced Voice Mode, is being offered to a small number of ChatGPT Plus subscribers starting today, and more people will gradually be added in coming weeks.
The company says it hopes all ChatGPT subscribers will have access by the fall.
Zoom in: OpenAI demoed an impressive array of voice capabilities in May, with the assistant singing, helping calm a nervous user before a speech and offering dramatic story readings.
Between the lines: OpenAI says it has been doing additional testing to ensure the safety of the new voice features, including tapping more than 100 external "red teamers" who collectively speak 45 different languages.
Need a little help planning your next vacation? Try asking AI for some inspiration — or even a full itinerary.
Driving the news: Travel startup Mindtrip today is unveiling "Start Anywhere," an AI-powered tool that can build a trip itinerary with as little as a single photo as a starting point.
