The Download: what's next for Neuralink, and Meta's language translation AI

In November, a young man named Noland Arbaugh announced he'd be livestreaming from his home for three days straight. His broadcast was in some ways typical fare: a backyard tour, video games, meet mom. The difference is that Arbaugh, who is paralyzed, has thin electrode-studded wires installed in his brain, which he used to move a computer mouse on a screen, click menus, and play chess. The implant, called N1, was installed last year by neurosurgeons working with Neuralink, Elon Musk's brain-interface company. Arbaugh's livestream is an indicator that Neuralink is a whole lot closer to creating a plug-and-play experience that can restore people's daily ability to roam the web and play games, giving them what the company has called "digital freedom." But this is not yet a commercial product.