AI Bottleneck Debates and BCI Trials Take Off

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. AI startup Subquadratic came out of stealth last month with a huge claim: it had solved a mathematical bottleneck that had held back large language models for almost a decade. The purported breakthrough comes from slashing the number of computations transformers need to carry out to generate answers.

The result is a faster and cheaper LLM that uses far less energy than any other model on the market. Many experts remained skeptical—but Subquadratic has started to share the receipts. They suggest that their approach might be worth paying attention to.

Here’s how the system works—and why some researchers still aren’t convinced. This week, I covered the story of Casey Harrell—a man with ALS who is “the first power user” of a brain implant. The device has enabled him to maintain an income, reconnect with friends and family, and read to his daughter.

He told me that it’s “nothing short of revolutionary.” Over the past couple of years, the number of BCI trial volunteers has soared. This year, China became the first country to approve a BCI for medical use. Advances in technology are allowing engineers to provide more features than ever.

BCI research is properly taking off. Find out how the technology is edging from the lab towards the market. This story is from The Checkup, our weekly newsletter giving you the inside track on all things biotech.

Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Thursday. I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Amazon workers who backed data center limits may face termination The engineers say they’re under investigation by the company.

(NYT $) + And could face discipline, including potential termination. (The Verge) + They had testified at meetings about pausing data centers. (CNBC) + They’ve filed a joint complaint to Seattle’s Office for Civil Rights.

(Wired $) 2 A new fossil discovery has rewritten 150 years of evolutionary theory It suggests early land vertebrates skipped the tadpole stage. (New Scientist $) + And raises questions about how vertebrates adapted to land. (404 Media) + Sponges may have been the first animals.

(MIT Technology Review) 3 Bernie Sanders plans to give the public direct ownership of AI firms He’s unveiled new legislation to create an AI sovereign wealth fund. (AP News) + It would be funded through a one-time tax on AI companies’ stock. (Quartz) + And make annual payments directly to Americans.