TheFutureParty
A Community-based Media Company
California passed a law extending the state’s Consumer Privacy Act to protect the privacy of a person’s brain data collected by neurotechnology companies (i.e., pretty much everyone in Silicon Valley). The Big Thought: Applications and technologies as diverse as mixed-reality headsets and meditation platforms can in some way record and collect the neural data of users… and […]
A material called “graphene,” which is the thinnest material known to humans, was successfully placed on a human brain for the first time — potentially unlocking a host of new therapies for neurological conditions. The Big Thought: Brain implants are all the rage these days (partly due to the hype around Elon Musk’s Neuralink), but they inherently seem […]
OpenAI is officially triggering the switch from its unique non-profit/for-profit corporate structure into a strictly for-profit company that will likely catapult the AI startup’s growth. The Big Picture: If you think OpenAI has a lot of money, influence, and power now, a for-profit designation will take the guardrails off the development of its systems — for better and worse. The Rundown: OpenAI […]
It’s official: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and former Apple design chief Jony Ive are working together on an AI device, and they’ve brought in investor Laurene Powell Jobs to lead funding. Why It Hits: While there are plenty of startups trying to make an AI device happen, the difficulty is making any of them feel as necessary as […]
A healthcare and research group out of Memphis, Tennessee is the first in the US to roll out hologram technology at 11 of its clinics to connect cancer doctors with rural patients, so that they don’t have to make the trip to urban medical centers. The Big Picture: Amid a major doctor shortage in the US, tech that can […]
The private Polaris Dawn mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket took off yesterday after days of delays from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, sending astronauts to the furthest reaches they’ve traveled to since the last Apollo mission 50 years ago. The Big Picture: Not only will the mission provide NASA and SpaceX invaluable data about the effects of […]
Walmart completed the first commercial real estate project using 3D-printed technology at one of its Supercenters — a groundbreaking undertaking that wasn’t without its problems. The Big Picture: 3D-printing is likely the future of construction, as it theoretically will make projects quicker to complete and cheaper to produce. But right now, there are plenty of growing pains that […]
Today, Google and the Justice Department are set to go head-to-head on whether Google’s dominance in digital advertising is monopolistic — a verdict that could radically change the market and give competitors a chance. The Big Picture: The ad market trial comes just weeks after the DOJ prevailed in its case against Google that its search market power was […]
Amazon has “acqui-hired” robotics startup Covariant for an undisclosed amount, setting the stage for the retail giant to turn its network of fulfillment warehouses into robot-employment epicenters. The Big Picture: Ecommerce requires a huge headcount to keep the shipping machine running… but companies that figure out how to make actual machines the backbone of the physical labor […]
Neal Stephenson’s Lamina1 metaverse platform is teaming up with Oscar-winning VFX house Wētā Workshop on the “participatory worldbuilding” project called Artefacts. The Big Picture: Social gaming is more popular than ever, thanks to platforms like Fortnite, Roblox, and Minecraft. While those are more kid-centered for the time being, a similar project aimed at adults could be a game-changer. Between The […]