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Neuralink's brain-computer interface is preparing for human trials
At a San Francisco press conference Elon Musk-fronted human-machine interface startup Neuralink announced that it's preparing for human trials of its brain impant (Venturebeat). So far, it's carried out experiments on rats and, Musk says, “a monkey has been able to control a computer with its brain.”
Neuralink says that it hopes to start working with human subjects as early as next year, but hasn't yet received FDA permission. The interface, which uses flexible conductive wires implanted into the brain using a specially designed surgical robot, is initially hoped to help paralysed patients control computers and smartphones.
Amazon Alexa may be illegal in Germany
German government advisors have warned that Amazon's Alexa digital assistant may be illegal under German law because it makes and stores recordings beyond the scope of its user agreement (The Register). Although Alexa's setup-time agreement covers the person making it, Alexa devices such as the Amazon Echo may count as illegal bugging of visitors to the home, who haven't given permission, and minors, who cannot give permission to be recorded.
The new Lotus is an all-electric hypercar
Lotus has revealed its first fully-electric vehicle to go into standard production: the Evija hypercar will cost £1.7 million and only 130 cars will be made (Ars Technica). Although it's well beyond the reach of ordinary car enthusiasts, both its looks and its spec are stunning. Designed and built in the UK, it'll have a top speed of 320kph, a 400km driving range and will take just 18 minutes to reach a full battery charge.
Europe's Galileo GPS satellites have been down for the last week
For the last week, Europe's Galileo GPS satellite constellation has been out of service and it's not clear why (The Register). The satellites are providing increasingly inaccurate GPS data – which is now being ignored by many GPS positioning systems that usually include it. The last official explanation, issued on Monday described a "technical incident related to its ground infrastructure" and notes that Galileo is still in an early stage of deployment, when technical issues are more likely.
Chinese censorship furore prompts backlash against Taiwanese game studios
When Taiwanese game studio Red Candle slipped a hidden image of Winnie-the-Pooh into its acclaimed new horror game, Devotion, it brought down the ire of the Chinese state for its mockery of President Xi Jinping (Rock Paper Shotgun). The studio's Chinese publisher, Indievent, had its business licence revoked, while Red Candle rapidly pulled the game off Steam and says it won't be re-releasing it any time soon. Meanwhile, publishers and developers in the region say that other Taiwanese game developers have been dropped or ignored by Chinese publishers in the wake of the Devotion incident.
The return of Netflix's Stranger Things
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This article was originally published by WIRED UK
