After an extensive 16-month investigation by the US Congress into the four Big Tech firms, the final assessment has come to light. The behavioural pattern of Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple has started to raise questions about “whether these firms view themselves as above the law, or whether they simply treat lawbreaking as a cost of business.” (Kang & McCabe, 2020). A substantial 449 page report made by lawmakers has made clear that according to them, the answer is yes (Het Financieele Dagblad, 2020).

Credits: Leif Gann-Matzen

What is interesting is the amount of agreement that the Democrats and Republicans generally have regarding this topic. The report has caused members of society to form various opinions on the matter, including that the report focuses on the negative side of these businesses too much. They argue that these firms have brought extremely valuable products and services to their very large user base. This is of course true: some of the Big Tech products and solutions cannot be separated from our daily lives anymore. But that is where some of the problems lie as well: privacy related issues, the monitoring of the heaps of data that are continually generated on platforms like Facebook, and of course the general monopolistic power of these large firms. This leads the Congress to agree that these four companies should not be able to continue as is (Ovide, 2020).

This is where the next challenge comes in: how can the monopolistic situation these Big Tech firms have shaped be reimagined? The solutions brought to the table range from less to extremely drastic. This includes ideas like not forcing Apple product users to install applications from Apple’s own App Store, in order to “break up” these types of strategies to keep consumers within their own firms. Regulations regarding the acquisition of smaller companies by the Big Tech firms is another example, which would be a very significant change (Ovide, 2020). The question is whether these solutions are realistic and manageable to implement in practice.

Do you think “business as usual” will change for Big Tech? Or will these companies be able to continue on their current paths?

Sources:

Het Financieele Dagblad (2020). Washington drijft jacht op Big Tech op. Retrieved from: https://fd.nl/ondernemen/1359759/washington-drijft-jacht-op-big-tech-op

Kang, C., McCabe, D. (2020). House Lawmakers Condemn Big Tech’s ‘Monopoly Power’ and Urge Their Breakups. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/06/technology/congress-big-tech-monopoly-power.html

Ovide, S. (2020). Congress Agrees: Big Tech Is Broken. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/07/technology/congress-big-tech.html

Video (GIF) by Leif Gann-Matzen.

Picture by Reuters.

Next to Tesla, SpaceX, The Boring Company, and OpenAI, Elon Musk still manages to spend a part of his time working on his company Neuralink as well (The Joe Rogan Experience, 2020). Neuralink was founded by Musk in the summer of 2016, and focuses on developing ultra-high bandwith brain-machine interfaces to connect humans and computers (Neuralink, 2020). Quite a mouthful, right? So, what exactly does this entail?

The Link (Neuralink, 2020)

Neuralink is developing a brain machine interface (BMI) system, enabling a computer or other device to communicate directly to the brain. For example, once a Neuralink application would be available, the user would be able to control their iPhone just by thinking about it. The sky is the limit when considering ways in which this technology could be implemented. For now, the main focus is put on both helping people with paralysis and inventing new technologies that will expand human abilities (Neuralink, 2020). Another practical example of this would be the ability to cure blindness.

The most recent developments have been the unveiling of prototypes of the so-called Link, and the actual implanting of the device in live pig’s brains. The result can be seen in the following video, titled “Snout Boops”:

It becomes clear from the video that progress is being made in detecting when neurons are firing. However, what mainly shines through from the company’s latest update is Musk’s high-level view on Neuralink’s potential long-term implications. “On a species level, it’s important to figure out how we coexist with advanced AI, achieving some AI symbiosis, such that the future of the world is controlled by the combined will of the people of the earth”, he mentioned (Neuralink, 2020). While Musk’s big thinking is not everyone’s cup of tea, the future of Neuralink has great potential in becoming increasingly prevalent. Having the name “Elon Musk” attached to the phenomenon certainly helps in putting a metaphorical spotlight on the company (Crane, 2020).

How do you think a technology like Neuralink could be implemented? Do you agree with Musk’s long-term vision?

Sources:

Crane, L. (2020). Elon Musk demonstrated a Neuralink brain implant in a live pig. Retrieved from: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2253274-elon-musk-demonstrated-a-neuralink-brain-implant-in-a-live-pig/

Musk, E., Rogan, J., (2020). Joe Rogan Experience #1470 – Elon Musk. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcYjXbSJBN8&t=2880s

Neuralink (2020).  About. Retrieved from: https://neuralink.com/about/

Neuralink (2020). Neuralink Progress Update, Summer 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVvmgjBL74w&feature=youtu.be

Neuralink (2020). Snout Boops. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSutodqCZ74&feature=youtu.be

Picture 1. Retrieved from: https://www.roadtovr.com/neuralink-brain-interface-limb-tracking-pigs/

Picture 2. Retrieved from: https://www.cnet.com/news/elon-musk-shows-neuralink-brain-implant-working-in-a-pig/