First Neuralink patient shows off 'telekinetic' powers

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Welcome back, Superhuman

The first-ever Neuralink patient says he’s dressing up as Professor X for Halloween this year — and for good reason. After months of practice, Noland Arbough is showing off his new superpower: The ability to navigate computer screens with nothing more than his thoughts.

TODAY’S MENU

• Neuralink patient shows off ability to play chess with his mind

• How to access and use Google’s new Gemini 1.5 Pro

• Microsoft shows off new new AI-powered PCs

• Chart: How American companies are implementing AI

• 5 new AI tools to boost your productivity

• AI Generated Images: Spring has sprung

NEWS

Today in AI & Tech

• Macintosh Monopoly: In a lawsuit filed Thursday, the Justice Department accused Apple of monopolizing the smartphone market.

• To the Moon: In its highly-anticipated stock market debut, Reddit’s shares reached $50.44 — up 48% from its initial offering.

• Digital Darwinism: A pair of former Google researchers in Tokyo have released open-source AI models that they say were built using a new approach inspired by evolution.

• Fly-Thru: Wendy’s diners in Christanburg, Virginia will soon be able to receive their orders via drone, thanks to a partnership between DoorDash and Alphabet’s Wing.

• Legal Learning: The nonprofit Fairly Trained announced it has certified the first LLM trained entirely without infringing copyright laws — a feat that companies like OpenAI have said was impossible.

NEXT IN AI

Video shows first Neuralink patient playing chess with his mind

The first Neuralink patient just showed off his newfound “telekinetic” powers for the first time. Noland Arbaugh, who is paralyzed from the shoulders down, had Elon Musk’s Neuralink chip implanted in late January. Over the past few months, he’s been a Jedi in training, gradually learning how to control computers with nothing but his mind. 

• A video posted to X shows Arbaugh casually playing chess, using his own thoughts to move his cursor across the screen. 

• He said the device has given him a new sense of independence. 

• Since learning how to wield what he describes as ‘the Force,’ Arbaugh has been able to play video games, learn new languages, and read on his own — all tasks that he previously needed his family’s help with.

But not everyone is convinced. Some viewers pointed out that there seemed to be several jump-cuts throughout the nine-minute video, suggesting that it could have been edited. In addition, unlike some of its competitors, Neuralink has yet to publish any peer-reviewed studies evaluating its effectiveness, according to the Verge.

What’s next? In a Thursday morning post, Musk claimed that Neuralink’s next big project involves helping blind people see (no big deal). “Resolution will be low at first, like early Nintendo graphics, but ultimately may exceed normal human vision,” he wrote. Musk claimed that the Blindsight product is already working in monkeys. But many experts say they’ll need more than a tweet before they can take Musk at his word.

While Neuralink has not disclosed its use of AI, it’s likely that the device uses AI to filter noise from brain data and recognize patterns to improve its response.

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AI AT WORK

How to access and use Google’s new Gemini 1.5 Pro model and chatbot

It’s finally here! If you’ve been subscribed to this newsletter for long enough, you know how excited we are about Gemini 1.5 Pro, Google’s new AI model that lets you upload entire books, videos, images, and otherwise.

It also boasts a memory recall that’s almost perfect, making it the best AI model in theory for extracting accurate details from large files.

Here’s how to use it:

• Go to the AI Studio website

• Select Gemini 1.5 Pro from the Model menu on the right

• Attach a file from the Insert menu in the top of the window

• Type a prompt in the chat and you’re good to go

While you can do all the regular stuff here that you can do with other chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini 1.5 Pro really shines when you upload large files and try to get answers or summaries related to the file.

Note: AI Studio can be accessed in most major countries but it’s yet to be rolled out in a small number of locations.

AI LAPTOPS

Microsoft devices are getting a major AI upgrade

How many times have you gone down a rabbit hole trying to dig up a colleague’s email? What about navigating through a half-dozen menus just to change a small setting on your computer?

On Friday, Microsoft announced two new devices — the Surface Pro 10 for Business and the Surface Laptop 6 for Business — that might help workers get rid of some of those navigational headaches with the help of AI.

Hardware-wise, these Windows 11 devices aren’t huge leaps compared to previous iterations. But what sets them apart is their full integration with Copilot, Microsoft’s AI assistant. 

Microsoft showed off how Copilot can help employees:

• Automatically clear out space on their hard drive.

• Change settings and wallpapers based on simple text prompts.

• Work across multiple Microsoft 365 apps, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

• Summarize meetings and emails and deliver action items based on those conversations.

At this point, the new Surface devices are only available for Microsoft’s corporate partners. But if you’re a PC owner, you’ve likely already noticed that all Windows 11 devices have recently gotten some AI-powered updates. 

Microsoft has another event planned for May 20th, where we’ll likely hear more about its plans for Copilot. In the meantime, many users are happy to see the company focusing on quality-of-life improvements. Major tech breakthroughs are cool, but it’s usually those subtle upgrades that end up making our lives easier.

CHART

How American businesses used AI in 2023

Nearly 70% of American companies said they used AI for business operations in 2023, according to Statista. Roughly half used AI for accounting and human resources purposes.

Companies haven’t been as quick to apply AI to product development: Only 38% said they’d used AI for that purpose.

PRODUCTIVITY

5 AI Tools to Supercharge Your Productivity

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AI GENERATED IMAGES

Spring has sprung

Prompt: In the spring, green mountains and flowers bloom in colorful tulips, purple peach blossoms, and pink plum trees. Yellow chrysanthemums bloom on hillsides along with red roses. A blue sea of clouds hangs over small houses scattered among the flowers. The sun rises from behind foggy mountain peaks, casting warm light over everything. The sky is colorful in the style of high definition photography.

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Until next time!

Zain

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