Suddenly this makes way more sense
Valve CEO Gabe Newell’s Neuralink competitor is expecting its first brain chip this year
Submitted 4 days ago by simple@lemm.ee to technology@lemmy.world
Comments
moseschrute@lemmy.world 3 days ago
FourWaveforms@lemm.ee 3 days ago
I can hear this picture
CosmoNova@lemmy.world 4 days ago
I know the internet lives the guy but no. Just no.
Kecessa@sh.itjust.works 4 days ago
Some people are starting to wake up to the fact that the guy is just another libertarian billionaire, he just happens to be in charge of a company that made a product people love enough to give them monopolistic powers.
errer@lemmy.world 4 days ago
You’re not wrong, the downvoters are just sad because you are right. Just takes one personality shift from Gabe to turn him from beloved figurehead to shitty billionaire and being reminded of that sucks.
chunes@lemmy.world 3 days ago
It’s been known for quite a while now. Even reddit gets annoyed with the guy.
Rose@lemmy.zip 3 days ago
I’m not even sure if it’s love. When something is all you’ve known, you just view everything else as strange and inferior. When you have so many games and have had so many experiences on Steam, the cognitive dissonance of accepting that Valve is quite problematic could hard to bear. Knowing that everybody around you praises Steam, with many turning to rage and harassment when they see competitors like Epic, the fear of being ostracized and ending up in the same position as those competitors is also a strong factor at play.
hoch@lemmy.world 3 days ago
As someone losing control of their hands and enjoys playing video games, I very much look forward to this technology not only being available via Elon Musk.
CosmoNova@lemmy.world 3 days ago
And I see that but a game developer is not the right type of business to develop these kind of extremely intrusive and potentially dangerous accessibility devices. We need much stricter guidelines and oversight for this kind of tech before they essentially become a remote control for parts of our brain.
Inaminate_Carbon_Rod@lemmy.world 2 days ago
The use of the fingers is covered under our monthly plan of $49.99
If you would like thumbs included, that is covered under our premium plan of $499.99 a day.
doodledup@lemmy.world 4 days ago
TIL Valve is into brain chips.
tal@lemmy.today 4 days ago
The Steam Deckard was a little more ambitious than had been originally anticipated.
Zetta@mander.xyz 3 days ago
To be fair, I think it’s specifically Gabe who’s been obsessed with brain computer interfaces for the past many years. Obviously it’s his company, so Valve by extension participates.
metallic_z3r0@infosec.pub 3 days ago
Makes sense, as you get older you get more and more disgusted by the weakness of your flesh, and tend to crave the certainty of steel.
DasSkelett@discuss.tchncs.de 3 days ago
As far as I can see the company behind it (Starfish Neuroscience) is not affiliated with Valve in any way? (Aside from having the same CEO)
Kecessa@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
And Newell is Valve because it’s his private company
isaaclyman@lemmy.world 3 days ago
I think we all know where this is going.
- The Brainchip is trendy in Silicon Valley but doesn’t do much yet. The company says cyber-superintelligence will be available in a year, tops. Investors are pouring billions into it. Everyone says you need to hop on the trend now or you’ll be obsolete in six months.
- It’s been two years. The Brainchip still struggles to control a mouse or search Google. Everyone’s lost interest in building apps for it. Many users are reporting severe migraines, but the company says there’s nothing to worry about.
- The Brainchip pipes three unskippable ads directly to your optic nerve every time you go to the bathroom. Notifications ping your brain all day long. You can get it removed if you’ve got $80k to burn, but there’s a high risk of postoperative stroke.
Yeah, no, I’m not putting anything in my body that isn’t open-source from end to end. And even then probably nah.
GreenKnight23@lemmy.world 3 days ago
the only way, and I mean the ONLY way I’ll put hardware in my brain is if I have resurrection level support like in Altered Carbon.
the fear of losing my outward identity over the ability to live forever is worth losing.
LodeMike@lemmy.today 3 days ago
You still won’t be able to live forever.
lucelu2@lemm.ee 2 days ago
I wonder how often you have to back up in case you need a reboot.
bampop@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Why so pessimistic? With any luck brainchips will mean the end of annoying adverts once and for all. You’ll just feel an unexpected desire to acquire certain products. And maybe crippling headaches or a nauseating feeling of unease if you ignore these urges
communist@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz 3 days ago
this isn’t for you, you’re not a paraplegic, are you?
isaaclyman@lemmy.world 3 days ago
The article does not mention paraplegia.
FreedomAdvocate@lemmy.net.au 3 days ago
The Brainchip is trendy in Silicon Valley but doesn’t do much yet.
These guys would beg to differ:
Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 3 days ago
illi@lemm.ee 4 days ago
How the hell is this not the Onion?
killerscene@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 days ago
isn’t the verge the same as the onion?
secret300@lemmy.sdf.org 3 days ago
Nah, the verge is less credible
clay_pidgin@sh.itjust.works 4 days ago
I was sure it must be. Is it not? Gosh.
Tattorack@lemmy.world 2 days ago
The only condition under which I wouid ever consider getting a neural implant, is if the implant and its software is open source.
Any closed source thing you stick in your brain will ultimately doom you.
Besides that, there’d also actually have to be a purpose. As it stands now, cybernetics isn’t advanced enough to turn me into a full cyborg, so probably never in my lifetime.
NikkiDimes@lemmy.world 2 days ago
I don’t think it’s expected that the average person will be jumping at the opportunity to tinker with their neurons. The first line of people to get such implants will almost certainly be people with physical disabilities.
DeathByDenim@lemmy.world 2 days ago
While true regarding open source vs closed course. The risks are quite large for patients. For example, a few years ago there was a company called Second Sight that made artificial eyes so blind people could partially see again. Then the company discontinued the product and now they are stuck with an unsupported surgically implanted device that they rely heavily on but can break any time. It’s pretty risky to have something implanted if you don’t know if the company will be around in a decade or so.
ArchmageAzor@lemmy.world 2 days ago
All these brain chips will primarily, initially, be for crippled people. Maybe a controller chip to control prosthetic arms, or something to let a paraplegic person control a computer.
dzsimbo@lemm.ee 2 days ago
It’s still fun to hear the man himself talking about a larger than life virtual reality.
The tech still scares me, I’m not even sure I’d be okay with EEG-like patches that work both ways (scifi, I know), not to mention brain surgery, for pure decadence. But the quality of life benefits really can be huge for many, and that really got my fantasy going, once I ‘accepted’ we figured out the limits and safeties of bodily autonomy.
xavier666@lemm.ee 3 days ago
HL3 is going to be launched with Valve’s brain chip.
They don’t even have to make the game. The chip will convince you that you have already played the game and it’s the best game ever.
Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world 2 days ago
HL3 is going to be launched with Valve’s brain chip.
The headcrabs feel like headcrabs!
shaquilleoatmeal@lemm.ee 3 days ago
He’ll only be able to make the first prototype, and then a second. He will never make it to 3.
Kolanaki@pawb.social 3 days ago
By then he should be able to pass the tech off to a smaller, independent contractor like Gearbox or Obsidian.
psoul@lemmy.world 2 days ago
He’ll make a few versions: Brain Chip Brain Chip Army Brain Chip Police Brain Chip 2 Brain Chip 2 Coastal Vacation Brain Chip 2.1 Brain Chip 2.2 Brain Chip 2 VR
Will never make it to 3 though.
tenchiken@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 days ago
Not advocating for our against but 2 thoughts here:
1: Gabe isn’t Musk. Yes money etc but don’t immediately jump there without other malfeasance please. Caution absolutely but don’t ascribe one rich assholes shit to another.
2: He probably has hard data on accessibility… Possibly more than nearly anyone else. There’s a HUGE portion of the population that can’t use “traditional” controllers or other input devices. And that’s not even going into the medical realm.
Could game Gabe be starting his villain phase? Sure! But until more negative details come out I’m just hoping this is investments he’d use toward a new steam controller.
LeroyJenkins@lemmy.world 3 days ago
let’s not circlejerk and have a soft spot for a billionaire just because you like video games. why give gaben the benefit of the doubt just because you think steam is a good product? if they’re a billionaire doing this, we can assume this is a money making venture.
if you’re a billionaire, you’re already way into your villain phase. he’s not musk, but he’s one of them. you don’t make a billion dollars. you take a billion dollars.
tenchiken@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 days ago
So, you are reading things I didn’t write. I’m not defending him about steam games etc… The only good will here about any of it is the work toward better Linux life.
I agree billionaires shouldn’t exist.
I don’t like steam.
I don’t really do much gaming… And it’s worth stuff from GOG.
Chill out. I’m not the fanboi you are looking for.
I’m only saying perhaps he sees $$$ in a venture that is rife with much worse people doing far worse to vulnerable people.
On the off chance better access comes about from rich assholes eating each other, I’m game to at least watch.
aceshigh@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Billionaires either inherit their money or get it by being an asshole. Being nice doesn’t make people billionaires.
faythofdragons@slrpnk.net 3 days ago
Yeah, if we were putting billionaires against the wall, GabeN would probably be near the end of the line.
mcv@lemm.ee 3 days ago
There was a time the same was true for Elon Musk, before he suddenly decided to jump the queue. I really hope Gabe isn’t going down that path.
nickhammes@lemmy.world 3 days ago
You don’t get to be a billionaire without some malfeasance.
And even if you don’t assume actively malicious intent like you should with Musk, there’s a lot of potential danger with technology like this, and if you don’t stand a lot to gain, and have reasonable controls against things going wrong, it’s probably not a good idea to be an early adopter. It’s just like a pacemaker, there are a narrow segment of people who should want to test a new model/concept for them.
tenchiken@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 days ago
Absolutely agree at every part.
My desire would be strong regulation via a real agency (not current US), or alternatively ONLY work via non-intrusive means on the scalp.
But_my_mom_says_im_cool@lemmy.world 3 days ago
It’s wild how Lemmy gamers and others treat Steam as if it’s a noble corporation and Gabe is THEIR billionaire so he can’t possibly be bad. The fact that he’s a billionaire is proof that he underpaid and stole from everyone below him. There are no good billionaires, and Gabe is not your friend
Demdaru@lemmy.world 3 days ago
I mean, it’s hard to hate on someone who pays his people well, gives fun benefits, cultivates chill working culture and is overall simply a chill guy and whose big, fat marketshare comes from actually working for the customer.
Yeah. He could probably pay better or give more of his wealth into the society. Hell, prolly even should. But the fact is that among anyone else with that title, Gabe looks like a goddamn saint.
But_my_mom_says_im_cool@lemmy.world 3 days ago
He’s anti union, valve employees aren’t allowed to unionize. Also seems cool with making money off all the games made by studios who are also underpaying and over working employees
nomy@lemmy.zip 3 days ago
He could direct his company to stop targeting kids with addictive gambling mechanics and looking the other way regarding grey-market resellers.
Rose@lemmy.zip 3 days ago
cultivates chill working culture
Jhex@lemmy.world 3 days ago
it’s almost as if there may be room for something in between love and hate, black and white, good and evil
Melvin_Ferd@lemmy.world 3 days ago
OMG GET OUT OF HERE
But_my_mom_says_im_cool@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Is a killer a good person? Isn’t there a line to cross before you become bad? If you reached billionaire status you left the moral line far behind
FreedomAdvocate@lemmy.net.au 3 days ago
The fact that he is a billionaire does not mean that lol. He’s a billionaire because his company gets a cut of every sale of games on his platform, and his platform is the industry standard/default platform for digital distribution. He could be paying his employees a million a year to be a janitor and he’d still be a billionaire, no “stealing” and not one being underpaid.
But_my_mom_says_im_cool@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Stop defending billionaires, they don’t care about you
Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 days ago
But yet he mighz be one of the beat billionaires in the pool of filth.
Melvin_Ferd@lemmy.world 3 days ago
The fact that you wrote this with just vibes makes me love Gabe that much more. I’m finding that the best past in life is to reject whatever the fuck you all are selling since you’re all so out of touch with reality.
But_my_mom_says_im_cool@lemmy.world 3 days ago
It’s wild how many servile, billionaire lovers there are here today. It’s kinda pathetic
echodot@feddit.uk 3 days ago
Yes but to be fair it wouldn’t be hard to find someone that felt that they were more exploited by Valve then by the likes of EA or Epic
AntelopeRoom@lemm.ee 4 days ago
Finally the logo makes sense
pipe01@programming.dev 3 days ago
They should make a big facility to test the implants
Crabhands@lemmy.ml 3 days ago
Maybe have an AI overseer, they could name it Gladys
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
You’d need people to solve puzzles to really put the implant through its paces. Something involving blocks should be sufficiently simple to play around with while having lots of variation.
DasSkelett@discuss.tchncs.de 3 days ago
Yperating System?
rocky1138@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
Billionaires should not exist
throwawayacc0430@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
Step 1: Tax all wealth above 999 Million at 100% taxrate
Step 2: Congrats, no more billionaires! 🎆🎇🎉🎊mcv@lemm.ee 3 days ago
It’s worth remembering that there was a time when the highest US tax bracket was taxed at 90%, and that didn’t stop the US’s longest period of sustained economic growth.
Ridiculously high tax rates for ridiculously high incomes have been done before and are entirely feasible.
Zealousideal_Fox_900@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 days ago
Careful now you are scaring tankies because they can’t go long without their delusions of getting to massacre everyone who disagrees with them.
pupbiru@aussie.zone 3 days ago
tax all wealth above the nth percentile of the populations wealth
sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 days ago
So, to all the people freaking out and saying this is as bad as Musk and Neuralink:
starfishneuroscience.com/…/ultra-low-power-miniat…
There is here zero mention of things like ‘being able to take a phone call’ or ‘bluetooth your brain directly into a keyboard or mouse or other people’s brains’ as Musk was saying.
This seems very much intended to be aimed at legitimate medical conditions.
They didn’t steal the PhD work of an actual pioneer in the development of medical brain implants via poaching a number of grad students who worked with him (which is what happened with Neuralink, btw), they are instead partnering with basically a nonprofit cooperative of the world’s foremost experts on nanoelectronics development, who have an established track record of developing various medical devices.
…
If news comes out about GabeN electrocuting monkeys and pigs to either death, or insanity/brain damage so extreme it causes them to kill themselves to escape the pain, then I will absolutely do a 180 heel pivot and condemn the fuck out of that.
Just to be clear here, a BCI is probably the very last thing I would ever be an early adopter of as some kind of commercial, general use product. Seems absolutely insane given the rampant cybersecurity problems just basically everywhere all the time, not to mention I just don’t like the idea of an actual chip in my actual brain.
Valve and GabeN are not some paragons of virtue, they basically invented (and still widely use and encourage) half of the monetization and dark pattern bullshit that is now everywhere in the entire games industry.
… But to me at least, this seems nowhere near as openly, comically, real world supervillain levels of evil as Elon and Neuralink.
infinitesunrise@slrpnk.net 2 days ago
The fact that most people would obviously never want to get a brain chip implant, combined with the fact that multiple billionaires are developing brain chip implants, indicates that there are plans in some circles to incentivize or coerce people into getting a brain chip implant at some point in the future.
pennomi@lemmy.world 2 days ago
It’s risk/reward. If brain chips made me twice as productive or intelligent, I’d probably tolerate a lot more risk than if it was just a way to check my Instagram notifications without pulling out my phone.
AdrianTheFrog@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Medicine in the US is very expensive. There is a lot of money in helping with neurological conditions or paralysis.
Prior_Industry@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Headlines you didn’t expect to read. Rather a Gabe chip than at Musk chip for sure
lmuel@sopuli.xyz 4 days ago
Yeah no thanks
Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world 3 days ago
“Now, if you’re part of Control Group Kepler-Seven, we implanted a tiny microchip about the size of a postcard into your skull. Most likely you’ve forgotten it’s even there, but if it starts vibrating and beeping during this next test, let us know, because that means it’s about to hit five hundred degrees, so we’re gonna need to go ahead and get that out of you pretty fast.” - Cave Johnson
Lettuceeatlettuce@lemmy.ml 3 days ago
Oh no. You either die the hero, or…
SnarkoPolo@lemm.ee 3 days ago
"As part of your onboarding process, we’re just going to implant your Company ID. That way, for your safety, we’ll always know where you are. If you hear a buzzing sound, that means return to the office immediately. Reduced work speed will produce a mild reminder shock.
“Welcome to the Corporation.”
Halcyon@discuss.tchncs.de 3 days ago
Last time I checked, the “brain implants” looked like this:
Zombie from Half Life with a headcrab slipped over it’s head
jabjoe@feddit.uk 3 days ago
Karen Sandler did a great talk on closed source software medical devices many years ago.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=qW1h1s_ojpM
This even more the case if it’s your brain! It probably won’t work for decades, but we should get house in order long before it does.
FreakinSteve@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Thumbnail is lit af
Wazowski@lemmy.world 2 days ago
had pass on all this bullshit.
Bonesince1997@lemmy.world 4 days ago
That picture 😂
DicJacobus@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Valve bros dont need to worry about what happens in life after gaben, because I think gaben is going to ascend to cyberspace before the end.
monke@lemmy.cafe 2 days ago
The picture in the post is unhinged
theacharnian@lemmy.ca 2 days ago
A culture that obsoletes electronics every couple of years and enshittifies services every couple of other years cannot be seriously talking about MMIs/BCIs.
muhyb@programming.dev 4 days ago
Will we also get a control valve back on our heads?
joyjoy@lemm.ee 3 days ago
No, that belongs to Gaben. Don’t touch it.