First Brain Implant Power User & South Korea’s AI Obsession
▼ Summary
– Casey Harrell uses a speech BCI independently, with new features enabling web browsing and job performance, and he maintains ambitious dreams despite ALS.
– The team calls Harrell the first power user of a speech BCI and plans further device enhancements.
– Only 16% of South Koreans are more concerned than excited about AI, the lowest among 25 surveyed countries, compared to 50% of Americans.
– South Koreans view technology adoption as essential for modernization and global standing, fueling their AI optimism and drive to stay ahead.
Casey Harrell has reached a remarkable milestone. He now operates his brain implant independently, with his care team rolling out new features that let him browse the web and carry out his job duties. “Living with a disease like ALS, you are supposed to have diminished dreams. I do not,” Harrell told MIT Technology Review.
His clinical team has labeled Harrell the first power user of a speech brain-computer interface. They are already planning additional upgrades to expand what the device can do.
While resistance to artificial intelligence grows across the United States, South Korea is heading in the opposite direction. Only 16 percent of South Koreans say they feel more concerned than excited about AI, the lowest share among 25 nations surveyed by the Pew Research Center. By contrast, half of Americans reported more worry than enthusiasm.
This optimism is rooted in a long-standing national belief: embracing technology is essential to modernizing the country and securing its position on the global stage. South Korea’s current fascination with AI represents the latest expression of that conviction, and it is fueling a strong desire to stay ahead of the curve.
Read the full story on South Korea’s AI fervour.
(Source: MIT Technology Review)
