The moral challenge of our era is not whether intelligence should expand, but whether human beings retain agency, sovereignty, and the capacity for flourishing within that expansion.

"We're all going to die, but let's accelerate anyway." That's the strange logic behind (self-serving) AGI alarmism. Merge-ASAP cheerleading, like this, is the same. Both obscure the moral goal in BCI, which deserves deeper attention: to serve and protect human agency.

“Innovating with the Party” 🫡 reuters.com/world/china/conv…

So true

New episode w @AdamMarblestone on what the brain's secret sauce is: how do we learn so much from so little? Also, the answer to Ilya’s question: how does the genome encode desires for high level concepts that are only seen during lifetime? Turns out, they’re deeply connected questions. Timestamps 0:00:00 – The brain’s secret sauce is the reward functions, not the architecture 0:22:20 – What the genome actually encodes 0:42:42 – What kind of RL is the brain doing? 0:50:31 – Is biological hardware a limitation or an advantage? 1:03:59 – Why we need to map the human brain 1:23:28 – What value will automating math have? 1:38:18 – Architecture of the brain Look up Dwarkesh Podcast on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc. Enjoy!

Agency > Intelligence I had this intuitively wrong for decades, I think due to a pervasive cultural veneration of intelligence, various entertainment/media, obsession with IQ etc. Agency is significantly more powerful and significantly more scarce. Are you hiring for agency? Are we educating for agency? Are you acting as if you had 10X agency? Grok explanation is ~close: “Agency, as a personality trait, refers to an individual's capacity to take initiative, make decisions, and exert control over their actions and environment. It’s about being proactive rather than reactive—someone with high agency doesn’t just let life happen to them; they shape it. Think of it as a blend of self-efficacy, determination, and a sense of ownership over one’s path. People with strong agency tend to set goals and pursue them with confidence, even in the face of obstacles. They’re the type to say, “I’ll figure it out,” and then actually do it. On the flip side, someone low in agency might feel more like a passenger in their own life, waiting for external forces—like luck, other people, or circumstances—to dictate what happens next. It’s not quite the same as assertiveness or ambition, though it can overlap. Agency is quieter, more internal—it’s the belief that you *can* act, paired with the will to follow through. Psychologists often tie it to concepts like locus of control: high-agency folks lean toward an internal locus, feeling they steer their fate, while low-agency folks might lean external, seeing life as something that happens *to* them.”

💯. Need dynamic FDA leadership to break the shackles. There’s plenty of room to safely pull back, and unleash USA’s potential.

Apple's new BCI-HID has dropped. piped.video/YK8r5vdpozA?si=ZJe7…

Buterin is advocating for an approach emphasizing “pluralistic identity,” in which “there is no single dominant issuing authority, whether that’s a person, or an institution, or a platform. This makes sense.

New Bluetooth input paradigm - brain control. This will become an industry standard.

Australia is world class in top-tier scientific output per capita, but is below average in start up company formation in deep tech / biotech / medtech. Israel is world class in start up company formation, entrepreneurial and innovation culture, despite having lower scientific output. There is a glaring difference - government spending on R&D. Israel - 6% of GDP OECD average - 2.7% of GDP Australia - 1.7% of GDP (!) Australia has an opportunity to be an innovation country. It has outstanding research output. The mines will dry and we should have elevated to high tech. The government needs to invest more in infrastructure spending to support early stage company formation. Look to Israel.

Episode 1 of new Black Mirror features latest synthetic brain cloud feature of @CorticalLabs Nice work guys! netflix.com/browse?jbv=70264… @dr1337

Implantable BCI company? Not for the faint hearted. It’s ~ 15+ years. Control your burn if early. You can’t spend to accelerate safety. (Below, “clinical” means fully implantable technology stack and company sponsored trial) Assumptions based on class 3 PMA stories and looking at market leader histories. Where are my assumptions wrong? Synchron 8 years preclinical: 2011-2019 6 years so far clinical: 2019- 2028 target approval date for PMA Neuralink 8 years preclinical: 2016-2024 1 year clinical: 2024- ? target approval date (is it 2032?) Paradromics 10 years preclinical: 2015- Not yet clinical ? target approval date (is it 2033?) Precision 4 years preclinical: 2021- Not yet clinical ? target approval date (is it 2037?) Echo 2 years preclinical: 2023- Not yet clinical ? target approval date (is it 2039?) BlackRock Neuro Not sure here - they have a long history of clinical trials but without fully implantable system. Now well funded and kicking off effort to develop a commercial tech stack, so let’s start from Tether funding but presume their preclinical phase is brief… Preclinical: 2024- Not yet clinical ? target approval date (is it 2039?)

“Forget the headlines—@neuralink may be louder, but Synchron is further along. It reached FDA trials first, secured a global IP footprint, and partnered with @nvidia. Boards betting on visibility over defensibility may be backing the wrong horse." "While Neuralink commands visibility, Synchron is quietly establishing category leadership through a minimally invasive platform, global partnerships, and a highly targeted IP strategy spanning 10 jurisdictions.” Read the report: insights.patentvest.com/brai…