Lifeboat Foundation

MIT neuroscientists propose a new framework that describes how thought arises from the coordination of neural activity driven by oscillating electric fields — a.k.a. brain “waves” or “rhythms.”

It could be very informative to observe the pixels on your phone under a microscope, but not if your goal is to understand what a whole video on the screen shows. Cognition is much the same kind of emergent property in the brain. It can only be understood by observing how millions of cells act in coordination, argues a trio of MIT neuroscientists. In a new article, they lay out a framework for understanding how thought arises from the coordination of neural activity driven by oscillating electric fields — also known as brain “waves” or “rhythms.”

The Significance of Brain Rhythms.

Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) discovered that adding a highly conductive substance called carbon black to a water and cement mixture created a construction material that could also serve as a supercapacitor.

Supercapacitors can charge and discharge extremely efficiently but are typically not capable of storing energy for long amounts of time. So while they lack the functionality of traditional lithium-ion batteries – which are found in everything from smartphones to electric cars – they are a useful method of storing excess electricity generated from renewable energy sources like solar and wind.

Since first unveiling the technology last year, the team has now built a working proof-of-concept concrete battery, the BBC reported. The MIT researchers are now hoping to build a 45-cubic-metre (1,590-cubic-feet) version capable of meeting the energy needs of a residential home.

Apple’s first reveal of the new macOS Sequoia includes a way to remote control your iPhone directly from the Mac, and a new Apple Passwords app.

Announced in the WWDC 2024 keynote, macOS 15 is called macOS Sequoia, and as expected, it brings AI — or Apple Intelligence — to every platform and practically every feature.

Across macOS Sequoia and Apple’s other platforms, users can write, summarize, and proofread text almost system-wide with Writing Tools. It will be able to generate sketches, animations, or illustrations with Image Playground, which is built into apps including Messages — and has its own brand-new app too.

There are plenty of reasons why Google would be interested in going down this route. For example, closer integration would make Android handsets more compatible with Chromebooks. However, it appears the main reason for the move is to accelerate the delivery of AI features.

As the Mountain View-based firm explains, having Chrome OS lean more on Android’s tech stack will make it easier to bring new AI features to Chromebooks. The company adds that along with the change, it wants to maintain the “security, consistent look and feel, and extensive management capabilities” that users are acquainted with.

Google is working on the updates starting today, but notes that users won’t see the changes for a while. The tech giant claims that when everything is ready, the transition will be seamless.

Now, iPhone owners will have to decide if Apple Intelligence is enough of a reason to upgrade.

Apple certainly hopes so.

A patent application was filed by Apple for a hinge to be used on a pair of smart glasses that will replace the iPhone.

But behind that wave of unreliable garbage, some amazing features emerge from using AI models. Apple has the chance to depict itself as the adult in the room, a company committed to using AI for features that make its customers’ lives better–not competing to do the best unreproducible magic trick on stage.

In doing so, it risks being seen as dowdy and behind. But if Apple can see beyond the latest tech-industry hype cycle–and it’s generally good at doing that–it can bet on iPhone users being more interested in real features than impractical nonsense.

Historically, Apple has been a company with a very strong philosophy about new technologies: they should be applied to solving the problems of real people. Most tech companies have historically had this backward: they take delivery of some whizzy new technology fresh off a manufacturer’s conveyor belt and shove it into a product. The result tends to be products that are solutions desperately searching for problems.

The Elemind headband is a soft, lightweight, and flexible wearable designed to be worn throughout the night, regardless of one’s sleeping position. It can collect information using brainwaves and pairs with a smartphone, where users can find details about their sleep patterns.

Where the headband is effective is its ability to use neuromodulation to impact the brainwaves, directing them from wakeful patterns to those of deeper sleep. “Elemind works like noise-cancellation for the brain. You can switch off the world, switch off the stress, and go to sleep faster,” explained Meredith Perry, the CEO and co-founder of Elemind.

Bank of America sees a multi-year upgrade cycle for smartphones and the iPhone thanks to the launch of the IntelliPhone.