AI is driving unprecedented investment for massive data centers and an energy supply that can support its huge computational appetite. One potential source of electricity for these facilities is next-generation nuclear power plants, which could be cheaper to construct and safer to operate than their predecessors. We recently held a subscriber-exclusive Roundtables discussion on hyperscale AI data centers and next-gen nuclear --two featured technologies on the MIT Technology Review 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2026 list . You can watch the conversation back here, and don't forget to subscribe to make sure you catch future discussions as they happen. Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, summed it up in three words: "This is embarrassing." Hassabis was replying on X to an overexcited post by Sébastien Bubeck, a research scientist at the rival firm OpenAI, announcing that two mathematicians had used OpenAI's latest large language model, GPT-5, to find solutions to 10 unsolved problems in mathematics.

The Austin-based startup will test its high-bandwidth device to help restore speech in people with extremely limited movement. Brain implant developer Paradromics has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to test its device in an early-stage human trial, the company announced Thursday. The Austin-based company is aiming to give a digital voice to people who have lost the ability to speak due to severe motor impairment. The trial will assess the long-term safety of the Paradromics device, as well as its ability to enable synthesized speech and text communication. Paradromics is one of several companies--which include Neuralink, Synchron, Precision Neuroscience, and Cognixion --working on technology to control computers and other devices using brain waves.

The wireless neural transmitter safely delivers brain signals like a microchip. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Today's neural implants are smaller than ever, but often remain cumbersome and prone to complications . According to researchers at Cornell University, a new iteration detailed this week in the journal may offer a novel path forward for brain implants. Small enough to fit on a grain of rice, the microscale optoelectronic tetherless electrode (or MOTE) is vastly smaller than similar implants and its design could be adapted to work in other delicate areas of the body.

Paralysed man can feel objects through another person's hand Keith Thomas, a man in his 40s with no sensation or movement in his hands, is able to feel and move objects by controlling another person's hand via a brain implant. The technique might one day even allow us to experience another person's body over long distances. Keith Thomas (right) was able to control another person's hand A man with paralysis has been able to move and sense another person's hand as if it were his own, thanks to a new kind of "telepathic" brain implant. "We created a mind-body connection between two different individuals," says Chad Bouton at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research in New York state. The approach could be used as a form of rehabilitation after spinal cord injury, allowing people with paralysis to work together, and may one day even allow people to share experiences remotely, says Bouton.

Ian Burkhart was on holiday with friends in 2010 when his life changed forever. He dived into shallow water and broke his neck, leaving him paralysed from the shoulders down at the age of 19. "At that point, I was getting assistance with everything," he says, "even being able to scratch an itch on my forehead." A few years later, Burkhart got an experimental brain implant that rerouted nerve impulses around his broken spinal cord to the muscles of his arm. It took time, but eventually he was able to use his hands and arms again – and even play the video game Guitar Hero.

British patients are set to receive Elon Musk's Neuralink brain chips as part of the first UK clinical trial. Neuralink is partnering with University College London Hospitals Trust and Newcastle Hospitals for the project, the company said in an announcement. Seven participants who cannot walk will be fitted with an implant about the size of a 10p coin, allowing them to control a smartphone with their mind. Those living with paralysis due to conditions such as spinal cord injuries and a nervous system disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis qualify for the study, the company revealed in a post on X. This comes after a paralysed woman in the US revealed the shocking effect the brain implant has already had on her life. Audrey Crews, who has been paralysed since she was 16, became one of five people in the US who have already been implanted with the brain chip.

Paradromics is shifting from research to clinical trials. Recently, a neurotech company called Paradromics made headlines by successfully implanting its brain-computer interface (BCI) in a human for the first time. The procedure happened at the University of Michigan during a patient's routine epilepsy surgery. The device was both placed and removed in just about 20 minutes, a quick turnaround for such a complex technology. This achievement is a big deal for Paradromics, which has been working on this brain implant technology for nearly 10 years.

Brain-computer interface startup Paradromics today announced that surgeons successfully inserted the company's brain implant into a patient and safely removed it after about 10 minutes. It's a step toward longer trials of the device, dubbed Connexus. It's also the latest commercial development in a growing field of companies--including Elon Musk's Neuralink--aiming to connect people's brains directly to computers. With the Connexus, Austin-based Paradromics is looking to restore speech and communication in people with spinal cord injury, stroke, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS. The device is designed to translate neural signals into synthesized speech, text, and cursor control.

Imagine losing your ability to speak or move, yet still having so much to say. For Brad G. Smith, this became his reality after being diagnosed with ALS, a rare and progressive disease that attacks the nerves controlling voluntary muscle movement. But thanks to a groundbreaking Neuralink brain implant, Smith is now able to communicate with the world using only his thoughts. Join The FREE CyberGuy Report: Get my expert tech tips, critical security alerts and exclusive deals -- plus instant access to my free Ultimate Scam Survival Guide when you sign up! Before receiving the Neuralink implant, Smith relied on eye-tracking technology to communicate.

Smith was about to get brain surgery, but Musk's virtual appearance foretold a greater transformation. Smith's brain was about to be inducted into a much larger technology and media ecosystem--one of whose goals, the billionaire has said, is to achieve a "symbiosis" of humans and AI. Consider what unfolded on April 27, the day Smith announced on X that he'd received the brain implant and wanted to take questions. One of the first came from "Adrian Dittmann," an account often suspected of being Musk's alter ego. Can you describe how it feels to type and interact with technology overall using the Neuralink?" It feels wild, like I'm a cyborg from a sci-fi movie, moving a cursor just by thinking about it. At first, it was a struggle--my cursor acted like a drunk mouse, barely hitting targets, but after weeks of training with imagined hand and jaw movements, it clicked, almost like riding a bike."