Neuralink's first human patient able to control mouse through thinking, Musk says

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1. Neuralink's first human patient able to control mouse through thinking, Musk says

Neuralink, a startup founded by Elon Musk, has successfully implanted a brain-chip on its first human patient, allowing them to control a computer mouse using their thoughts. The initial goal is to enable people to control a computer cursor or keyboard using their thoughts. The company has been criticized for its safety protocols, with a fine for violating U.S.

Department of Transportation rules regarding the movement of hazardous materials. Neuralink's founder has ambitious plans for the company, which aims to facilitate speedy surgical insertions of its chip devices to treat conditions like obesity, autism, depression, and schizophrenia.

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2. EU to fine Apple around 500 million euros over music streaming

The European Commission is set to fine Apple around 500 million euros ($539 million) over alleged breaches of EU competition law. The investigation focuses on whether Apple restricted apps from informing users about cheaper subscription alternatives outside its App Store.

The Commission will accuse Apple of abusing its power and banning its "unfair trading conditions" regarding its music service subscription policies. The fine would be one of the most substantial financial penalties the EU has imposed on a major technology company. The Digital Markets Act aims to address anti-competitive practices from big tech players.

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3. Gartner predicts 25% dip in search engine volume by 2026 due to AI

Gartner predicts a 25% decline in traditional search engine volume by 2026 due to the rise of chatbots and virtual agents. Generative AI, particularly GenAI, is reducing content production costs and affecting keyword strategy and domain authority scoring. This shift will force companies to reassess their marketing channel strategies.

Search engine algorithms will prioritize content quality to counterbalance AI-generated content, emphasizing the importance of utility and quality for organic search success. Global governmental regulations will also mandate the identification of AI-generated marketing content assets, influencing how search engines present digital content.

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4. Bioptimus raises $35 million seed round to develop AI foundational model focused on biology

Bioptimus, a Paris-based generative AI startup, has raised a $35 million seed round to develop an AI foundational model focused on biology. The startup, which is capital-intensive, will train its models on expensive GPUs and hire talented researchers. Jean-Philippe Vert, co-founder and executive chairman, will act as co-founder and executive chairman.

Bioptimus will leverage multimodal patient data from Owkin, a French biotech unicorn, and has signed a partnership with Amazon Web Services. The AI model aims to improve disease diagnosis, precision medicine, and create new biomolecules for medical or environmental use.

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5. ElevenLabs to launch AI for the creation of unique sound effects

AI voice startup ElevenLabs is launching AI sound effects for the first time, using OpenAI's Sora text-to-video AI tool. The company used Sora's sound limitations to showcase their new offering, which adds sound effects to AI-generated video. ElevenLabs used text prompts from Sora to generate audio that was overlaid onto clips from the OpenAI Sora announcement.

The company has not announced a public release date yet. The latest funding comes after an $80 million Series B round, raising the total raised to $101 million and valuing the company at over $1 billion. ElevenLabs, co-founded by Piotr Dabkowski and Staniszewski, aims to eliminate linguistic barriers in content creation.

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