5 Weirdest Tech Trends of 2024: From AI Lovers to Brain Hacking

People having toxic romances with AI chatbots. A tech billionaire injects his teenage son's blood plasma into his roots, betting on decay as part of his night-stand quest for immortality. A 3D-printed sarcophagus that will kill you for the low, low price of $20.

All this and much more in 365 days.

Philosopher of technology Tom Chatfield once said, “Forget artificial intelligence—in the brave new world of big data, it's artificial stupidity we need. The past year has certainly proved Tom's point.

Either we are lucky to witness a technological renaissance that will enhance human potential or we have finally gone off the deep end of the silicon pool. It's still too early to tell, but in 2024, the line between innovation and ethical turpitude is thinner than ever, and these five surprising tech trends prove just how crazy this year has been.

1. The rise and dangers of toxic AI colleagues

This isn't entirely new territory—we've had AI girlfriends and AI-powered lovers before. But in the year By 2024, the rise of AI partners for love, friendship and professional use will reach an unprecedented level. Thanks to generative AI, interactions are now far beyond programmed responses, with language models so sophisticated that distinguishing between human and AI-generated responses often feels impossible.

The rise of AI companions is fueled by a perfect storm: more than 60% of Gen Z people feel lonely, combined with the rapid evolution of AI to become more human and emotionally responsive than ever before. Together, these factors have turned AI dating into a booming industry and greatly influenced the way we communicate.

The science behind these digital appendages is surprisingly biological. AI friends can stimulate the release of oxytocin, the “love hormone” that explains why almost a third of people either in love or in a relationship seem cool with their future partner by squeezing AI on the side. Because apparently, it's not technically cheating if it's not human, right?

But things are not always good. In October, when 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III took his own life after falling in love with an AI chatbot, the world was forced to face an uncomfortable truth: artificial companions can be just as toxic as humans.

Character.AI, the company behind Setzer's digital girlfriend, told Decrypt after hearing the news that it has “improved detection, response and intervention related to user inputs.”

Butterflies, another successful app that hosts an AI-powered social media platform similar to Instagram, also shared the idea. “Many of us turn to butterflies to escape reality and find some solace,” he said on Discord. “If you are struggling with overwhelming or intrusive thoughts, I want to encourage you to get the help you deserve.”

While this is unfortunate, Setzer isn't the only victim of toxic AI-human relationships. In the year In 2023, a Belgian man killed himself after chatting with his AI lover on an app called Chai, Belgian outlet La Libre reported. And considering that more than 100 million people will have downloaded AI chatbot apps by the beginning of 2024, there may be many more unreported cases.

2. The Wearable Revolution That Never Was.

This was supposed to be the year AI-powered wearables changed our lives. Instead, we got a masterclass in how to turn a $62.7 billion industry into ridiculous mistakes.

Take Human AP, positioned as the future of mobile computing—please! Despite the hefty investment and generating a lot of media buzz, the device proved to be what tech reviewer MKBHD called “the worst product I've ever reviewed” — and it's been reviewing things for over 16 years. The device's poor performance, unreliable functionality and exorbitant price tag resulted in such a dismal result that the company eventually had to find a buyer.

The Rabbit R1, hailed by none other than Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella as the most impressive product introduction since the iPhone, faced similar challenges. Initial reviews were mixed: some loved it while others highlighted its fundamental flaws, including poor battery life, unreliable AI functionality, and limited practical applications.

Things took off after smartphone companies and chatbot developers realized that no additional hardware was needed to take advantage of those functions. AI wearable makers have failed to come up with a good use case.

“If I had a choice between the thousands of ‘apps' in the ChatGPT GPT store and this thing—why would I choose Rabbit 1? Maybe because it looks cool and new. Nah, sorry, not interested. But I will definitely download the app,” he told Decrypt.

And an investigation by YouTube's Cofizilla shows that the company promised to raise millions of dollars to develop the Metaverse/NFT project before launching Rabbit, and that it didn't deliver much – and even that statement is extensible. .

Another product that jumped into the deep end of the pool is the AI-Powered Friend, a companion collar designed to be worn around the neck. Priced at $99, it promises to recreate the intimate AI relationship seen in the movie “Her.” However, he ended up broadcasting more of “1984” with his always-listening personality.

And of course there was drama associated with this one. Not long after the launch of the Buddy Necklace, Buzz Hardware's CEO released a disk-track mocking the wearable's open source product for a low price months ago.

His friend's CEO responded with an invitation to a physical fight, which unfortunately never happened.

3. A billionaire's quest for immortality takes a truly unexpected turn

Tech billionaire Brian Johnson took Yolo with “Project Blueprint” to extend his life as much as possible with current technology.

The daily routine reads like science fiction: pop 100+ pills (yes, really), convince your teenage son to give dad plasma in his quest for immortality (yes, really), send shockwaves to your penis (yes, really), and control your night-time erections. . All in a day's work for someone who sees his body as a living experiment.

His research project went so viral that people began betting thousands of dollars on how long Dong would last at night—because there was money to be made everywhere. When Decrypt first reported, 67% of decryptors trusted Johnson's capabilities, but now that number is higher.

Johnson's methodology is ruthlessly data-driven and essentially open source. A team of 30 doctors carefully monitors hundreds of biomarkers, from body function to inflammation levels, optimizing the body as a complex system.

His philosophy, which he calls “Zeroism,” is about aligning the body's 35+ trillion cells with the latest scientific research and technological advances. “Adopt systems based on consent, information on people's opinions (and) consent to addiction,” Johnson explained in the protocol document.

It also calls for rebellion against addictive algorithms, corporations that profit from selling unhealthy products, social norms that encourage bad behavior, and self-help disorder (SAD).

Beyond Johnson's personal mission, the broader field of antiaging research has seen significant advances. With scientists exploring everything from epigenetic reprogramming to senescent cell removal, young blood plasma therapies continue to capture both scientific interest and the public imagination.

However, a recent study in Nature Aging suggests that without major breakthroughs, radical life extension may be out of reach in the 21st century.

If that's true, then living with long-lasting bottoms seems like the next best thing — one step closer to eternity.

4. The brain-computer-interface revolution

In the year 2024 was the year researchers achieved the impossible with brain-computer interface technology. After the Neuralink “N1” device successfully completed its first human trial in January, it ushered in a new era of thoughts controlling computers. Previous experiments have been successful but very limited, with one experiment in 2006 giving a person the ability to control a mouse pointer with the brain.

But this new wave of testing includes more sophisticated technology that can offer patients a wider range of capabilities. The technology has shown remarkable potential in enabling people with ALS to communicate with only thoughts.

Neuralink is not alone. Synchron has been able to combine the brain implant with Apple's Vision Pro, and a former Neuralink researcher left the team to found a competing company called Precision Neuroscience to develop the same technology, a less invasive approach that eliminates certain types of injections. Cover material.

“Actually, the physical interaction with the brain is a thin film about a quarter the width of a human eyelid,” said Dr. Benjamin Rapoport, CEO of Precision Neuroscience. Decrypt. “In that thin film are embedded tiny platinum microelectrodes, each about the size of a neuron.

A month after Neuralink's announcement, a group of Chinese researchers published the results of their own BCI experiments “showing greater safety than Musk's telepathy.” The team used a 54-year-old quadriplegic man to control a wireless glove using his brain to perform a variety of tasks, blocking two dime-sized BCI processors.

In December, the team announced plans to expand their trial to include at least 50 more participants next year.

5. A death pad that kills you in style

Just in the year Just when you thought 2024 couldn't get any more dystopian, enter the Sarco Pod — a 3D-printed capsule for assisted suicide (only available in Resurrection Purple) that looks like it was designed by someone who's seen too many scientist movies. Invented by Dr. Philipp Nietzsche, aka “Dr. Death” (since stealth is so last century), it promises a five-minute journey through liquid nitrogen to the great peaceful.

The pod made headlines in September when it asked its first user: a 64-year-old woman who paid for the service to die in peace. But things turned darker when authorities discovered signs of strangulation during an autopsy. The pod's designer's last words to the user, “keep breathing,” won the 2024 award for amazing technological interaction.

Dr. Nitschke was arrested after news of the suicide spread on social media and the autopsy raised reasonable questions. He was released in early December after Swiss prosecutors could not prove he was involved in the murder. “Based on the latest investigation, there is a strong suspicion of aiding and abetting the crime of self-inflicted suicide, but there is no premeditated murder,” they said in a statement.

“The death of the American woman was straightforward. She climbed in of her own accord, closed the lid and pressed the button willingly,” argued the brilliant doctor.

According to the creator, it is extremely cheap to rent around 18 francs – around 20 birr. The Swiss stopped using it, probably thinking that this was really the technology they wanted to be famous for (besides watches).

Believe it or not, over 300 people have signed up for the service.

Edited by Andrew Hayward.