2024 Tech Breakthroughs: Autonomous Vehicles, Apple Hearing Aids and More

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0:27Good Morning Brew Daily Show. I'm Neil Fryman. And I'm Toby Howell. Today, put on your safety goggles and hold on to your beakers, because here comes the science episode. all the biggest tech breakthroughs of the year and why they matter. It's Tuesday, December 24th. Let's ride.

0:49Good morning and Merry Christmas and Hanukkah Eve. As part of our run of special edition episodes over the holidays, today we're going to be diving into the biggest science breakthroughs of the year. Look, it wasn't hard to find alarming things about technology in 2024. for AI deepfakes, chat GPT taking your job, mysterious drones swarming the good folks of New Jersey. It's a little unnerving. But at the same time, technology has resulted in so much progress, helping create medicines that will save lives, turn AirPods into hearing aids, and invent cool gadgets you didn't know you needed, like a transparent TV.

1:23And that's what we want to focus on today, the positive sides of tech, because you hear plenty about the downsides. Call it Morning Brew Daily's science fair. So without further ado, Neil, you won the pre-show present wrapping competition. Kick us off first. Let's do it. Well, it's been a long time coming, but after more than$100 billion invested in nearly a decade of promises, 2024 was the year that self-driving cars proved the haters wrong, leaping from niche and often despised technology to actually shuttling people around roads. Take Waymo in California, for example. In August, Google's autonomous car division gave about 312 ,000 rides per month, double its ride volume only three months before.

2:08Some estimates say Waymo now accounts for 4 % or more of the San Francisco rideshare market. And then over in China, Wuhan is on its way to becoming the world's first driverless city. Now, around three in every 100 taxis there are robo-taxis developed by Baidu's autonomous car division. There have been bumps along the way. GM shut down its cruise robo-taxi division following safety issues, saying it couldn't justify the enormous investment. But Waymo is growing like a weed. Now operating commercial robo-taxis in three American cities, SF, Phoenix, and LA. It's going to enter Austin and Atlanta next year and then Miami after that.

2:44It's currently testing in 25 major metro areas around the country. Toby, last year we were talking about how angry San Francisco residents were setting fires to Waymos, putting cones on their hoods to incapacitate them. There's been a distinct vibe shift this year, and there's a sense that we might be on the cusp of rapid robo-taxi adoption. There were a lot of understandable naysayers. Was self-driving just this pie-in-the-sky moonshot that was the distraction from actually improving transportation? Should we have put our efforts towards micromobility or just better urban infrastructure? These were valid questions, but now you see the amount of rides increasing.

3:21You see people's attitudes have totally shifted, and now they start to trust these robo-taxis a little bit more. In the escurs of how technology is usually adopted, what we've seen is so far the taste-making cities, the San Francisco's of the world, the Wuhan's of the world. They usually embrace these technologies a little more, but now we're seeing it rolled out across Miami, across Phoenix, across these other metro areas that aren't necessarily always on the cutting edge of tech adoption. But I do think that you have seen, you use the word vibe shift, a huge vibe shift when it comes to driverless cars.

3:56Yeah, we could see some movement in D.C. as well. One of the biggest roadblocks to autonomous vehicles being more widely adopted and rolling out faster is regulations. Obviously, you want to have a lot of rules on the road literally when it comes to self-driving cars. And we have Elon Musk essentially in the White House now. He's betting his entire company, Tesla, they're moving away from just making EVs to becoming a robo-taxi company. He said he's going to work with President-elect Trump to develop federal regulations when it comes to autonomous vehicles. So I think there's generally a lot of bullishness, and there's no doubt going to be more speed bumps along the way.

4:34But, you know, if you live in the United States, it's not inconceivable that in the next few years you will be able to hail a robo-taxi like you would in San Francisco and Phoenix right now. And, I mean, have you met somebody who's done that? No, which maybe just reflects on where my friends live around the country. But, I mean, I assume someone who lives in San Francisco. I just don't know that many people who live in the SF area right now. But absolutely, once it comes to Miami, I'm sure my tune will change. Let's keep the good science news rolling. A groundbreaking new HIV prevention drug fared well in clinical trials this year called Lenacapavir.

5:12The drug was named as the breakthrough of the year by the journal Science, not just in pharma, but in all of science. Lenacapavir offers six months of protection against HIV and has been shown to be remarkably effective in clinical trials so far with a 96 % reduction in HIV infections. One of its main draws, it is administered as a twice yearly injection, which is a lot easier for patients to stay on top of compared to the daily oral medications currently on the market. The drug works by targeting a specific protein to prevent the virus from replicating and forming mature particles, an innovation that carries implications for other viral infections as well.

5:53Neil, I feel like these trials were a little lost in all the hype around GLP-1 drugs this year, but lenacapvir is a huge step for the nearly 1.3 million people who were infected with HIV last year. Yeah, they're saying it could end the HIV epidemic. And, you know, this is very concentrated in one region of the world, Sub-Saharan Africa. This region accounts for 10 % of the world's population, but it accounts for two-thirds of people living with HIV. So if you can get this injection to those people, it could go a long way. because the existing treatment or preventative treatment for HIV is that pill that has a lot of stigma attached with it.

6:31People just don't take it as they need to on a daily basis. The big question for this particular drug is cost. It does exist in the United States as an HIV treatment. In 2023, it cost$42 ,000 per new patient per year here in the U.S. Meanwhile, the daily oral pill costs less than$40,$54 a year. So to get this adopted at all, and they are quite bullish about what this actually can do, they're going to have to drop the price considerably to get it to the affected populations. And remember, the UN has this very ambitious goal of trying to end HIV slash AIDS by the year 2030. And before Lenacapivir kind of hit the market, that goal looked entirely unobtainable.

7:13But now, given the fact that it is easier to administer, given the fact that you don't have to take this daily tablet that does have stigma attached to it, it is looking like it could potentially be something that's in the cards by 2030. Another reason why people are so excited about these trials that we saw is that they were replicable across geographies and sexes. You saw the study conducted in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, South Africa, Thailand, the United States, and across 3 ,200 cisgender men, transgender men, transgender women, and gender non-binary individuals. So those are some of the reasons why scientists were just so thrilled with this specific breakthrough.

7:53Let's keep it in the health world. Back in March, the world watched in astonishment as the first patient with a Neuralink brain implant used his noggin to move a cursor on a computer screen. The patient, Noland Arba, lost all movement below his shoulders in a diving accident. But thanks to the implant and working with engineers, he was able to play his stepdad in Mario Kart and multitask by talking about the operation and playing chess at the same time. It was a milestone moment for brain-computer interfaces, experimental technology that aims to put a chip inside someone's brain to help people regain their speech, sight, or movement.

8:30People have moved cursors with their neurons before, but those required a device outside of the brain to transmit data, so you need wires coming out of your skin. Neuralink's breakthrough is that it transmits data wirelessly. It didn't go perfectly. In the subsequent months, about 85 % of the threads implanted into Arba's brain came undone, limiting his ability to move the cursor. But all in all, he said he was very grateful and lucky to have the procedure. I just want to bring everyone along this journey with me, he said. I want to show everyone how amazing this is, and it's been just so rewarding, so I'm really excited to keep going.

9:04Neuralink has since done an implant in a second patient and got FDA approval for more. Right, and that is the big question is where do you go from here? Their second implantation, they want it to reach deeper within the brain. So the first one was around three to five millimeters in that first surgery. The second one, they want to get to a depth of eight millimeters in order to get better thread anchoring because that is the next big step here. As you said, 85 % of the threads detach, which really decreases performance. They want to boost those numbers. Another thing they want to do too is that they have this thing called the R1 robot that That is really crucial for getting a precise implementation, implantation, excuse me.

9:44And they need to scale that up so it can perform multiple surgeries a day. Neuralink also got FDA's breakthrough device designation for this new implant called Blindsight, which they want to try to implant to bring back eyesight for people who have lost it. So yes, there are issues. But again, this is the optimistic science episode. And those are a lot of optimistic things. I mean, this guy could not move from his shoulders down. and now he's being able to communicate with his brain and move a cursor and play chess. So it's pretty cool. And he is only singing the praises of Neuralink. And we should add, Neuralink's not even close to the only company operating in this space.

10:19There are at least five other companies that want to do something similar and have applied from the FDA to be able to test on human patients. So they're all doing this implant in a different way. Neuralink has its particular way. These other companies have their own particular procedures. So it seems like there is a movement among a broad swath of companies to get this going. Apple's AirPods Pro 2 are great for listening to Morning Brew Daily, but Apple wants you to hear more than just the number one business news podcast in the world. It unveiled a groundbreaking feature this year, which aims to assist people with mild to moderate hearing loss by turning the popular headphones into hearing aids.

10:57Pop in an AirPod and the feature enhances surrounding sounds so you can hear your environment more clearly. and it's not just a marketing ploy either. The FDA approved their use as clinical grade over-the-counter hearing aids, which at just$249 means that they are one of the more affordable OTC options out there. And Neil, that is the big unlock here, the affordability of these new hearing aids. Would you say this is the coolest thing Apple did this year? I mean, probably. They've done a lot. They've been digging further into the health space. I mean, they really want their Apple Watch to become this big, cohesive health unit.

11:34And now they have these AirPods that actually do function as clinical hearing aids. So yes, even though in this era of Apple intelligence, it might've been the coolest thing Apple did. Yeah, Vision Pro sailed and flopped and Apple intelligence allowed people to make their own emojis. Siri got a slight upgrade, but that has yet to roll out to a lot of people. I think this was certainly the most consequential thing Apple did this year. And it was buried in a list of updates to its new mobile operating software. So it's really a big deal because so many Americans have hearing loss, but due to the cost of hearing aids, and also we've said this word a lot, stigma, and maybe that's what a lot of these innovations have in common is reduce the stigma around certain ways to help yourself get better.

12:20It will probably lead to a lot more people getting help for hearing loss and make a lot of people's lives better. So I have the AirPods Pro 2, and so I did the hearing loss test, which is essentially just pings little noises in your ears, and you have to determine whether you heard it in your right ear or your left ear. And luckily, I did not have a ton of hearing loss, but people said that the test is mostly accurate. It doesn't line up perfectly with their clinical hearing tests that they receive, but it's close enough that they do feel confident that they are diagnosing hearing loss appropriately.

12:52And then the other thing that some people who test them out said that you have the same conversation with almost everyone you miss is that, yes, these are hearing aids. No, I understand that they're AirPods. They are also hearing aids. And no, I'm not being rude. I promise you I'm hearing you better with them in. So even though it says it's reducing that stigma, going up and talking to someone while wearing AirPods or an AirPod still is a little bit weird. It's confusing. Maybe they need a different color or different shade. Yeah, or a light to show that they're being used as a hearing aid. Have you ever wondered what's going on behind the scenes of your favorite TV show?

13:26And behind the scenes, I don't mean the bloopers. I mean literally what's going on in your living room behind the scene. Well, now you can thanks to LG's first-of-its-kind transparent TV, which it revealed at the CES trade show in January. This product was the talk of the convention, a 77-inch transparent OLED TV that can either show you content on a screen or go full invisibility cloak and reveal what's behind it. It'd be perfect for the living room of a billionaire Marvel villain when it ships because it's expected to cost any tens of thousands of dollars and has no real practical purpose. But Toby, LG isn't the only one trying out transparency.

14:04Samsung also revealed a see-through TV of its own at CES. What do you think? Gimmick or new design aesthetic for the rich and famous? I think it's somewhere in the middle. I know that's a cop-out, but when I heard transparent TV, I thought it would be like this plastic semi-translucent thing. But when you see this, it literally goes, it is a glass box. There's nothing in it. And I think the 3D nature of it was something I didn't expect is that it's got multiple modes. One mode shows off its 3D effect. So you can turn it into an aquarium that looks like there's fish swimming around in it because it is a box.

14:39But then you can also watch regular TV on it. I was reading some reviews again on like how did the TV actually perform and it's not quite up to par with the top of line models from LG. And so that could be a point of kind of departure for these big TV nerds. They don't want to watch something that they know they could get better resolution somewhere else out there. But I will say it was cool, especially kind of that 3D effect that we spoke about. Up next, some more science breakthroughs coming your way.

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15:48EPCLIS can be used with or without topical corticosteroids. Don't use if you're allergic to EPCLIS. Allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. Eye problems can occur. Tell your doctor if you have new or worsening eye problems. You should not receive a live vaccine when treated with EPCLIS. Before starting EPCLIS, tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. Searching for real relief? Ask your doctor about EPCLIS and visit ebglis.lily.com or call 1-800-LILY-RX or 1-800-545-5979. Tuesday on NBC, Jimmy Fallon and Bozema St. John host the highly anticipated new competition show. I hired 10 creatives from all walks of life.

16:22They will be battling it out to see who can impress the world's biggest brands. This is a huge opportunity. This is the battle for the next big idea. This is not play play. We're spending millions of dollars. I'm so excited to embark on this adventure with all of you. May the best idea win! On Brand with Jimmy Fallon. Series premiere Tuesday on NBC.

16:45When did making plans get this complicated? It's time to streamline with WhatsApp. The secure messaging app that brings the whole group together. Use polls to settle dinner plans. Send event invites and pin messages so no one forgets Mom's 60th. And never miss a meme or milestone. All protected with end-to-end encryption. It's time for WhatsApp. Message privately with everyone. Learn more at whatsapp.com. Okay, so I know this is a science positive episode, but this next story is less of an innovation and more of a debunking. Remember Blue Zones? Those special places around the world where people seem to live longer, healthier lives thanks to a simple set of easily repeatable behaviors.

17:30Stuff like community involvement in specific diets were enough to produce lifespans well into the 90s and 100s in regions stretching from Okinawa, Japan to Loma Linda, California. The only issue? Some scientists think it's a bunch of hoo-ha. One postdoctoral researcher from Australia, Dr. Newman, published a paper that was recently honored at the Ig Nobel Prizes, a humorous spinoff of the Nobel Prizes, that chalked up the increased lifespans found in blue zones to shoddy record-keeping. Newman found that areas with high levels of faulty records also had high levels of centenarians living there.

18:07One especially agrees example is a 2010 Japanese study that found that 230 ,000 centenarians were actually just a result of unreported deaths. So, Neil, there's been some pushback to Newman's work, and his paper is not peer-reviewed yet, but it certainly cast Blue Zones in a different light. It did, and it made a lot of waves because the Blue Zones brand has quietly become huge. There's Blue Zones iced tea. There's Blue Zones bean soups. There's eight books and Netflix series partnerships, a million-dollar program for other cities to become part of Blue Zones. We even talked about real estate developments, getting a Blue Zone designation, which probably cost money that they had to play Blue Zones for.

18:50So it was a maybe a direct threat to the global Blue Zones brand. And the Blue Zones guy, who's a National Geographic reporter who turned Blue Zones from just a concept into into this global brand, certainly pushed back on the research from from the Dr. Newman, Dr. Newman. Sorry, Dr. Newman. And said, look, we cross check everything. thing. Like you think we just go and take everybody, take these cities, you know, word for the fact that how many people live over a hundred and like we did our research. So there was, there's certainly a debate over that, but I think it knocked down blue zones a little bit from its perch.

19:27One thing that is for sure though, longevity is becoming much more in vogue these days. Remember there's Brian Johnson, the former tech founder who now has devoted all his time and money and dignity to try to slow aging. You also see a rise in people trying out these different protocols to live longer. Drinking is going down. There is definitely a vibe shift in our society towards longevity. So even if Blue Zones, the brand, might have taken a hit, I do think this is a trend that is moving towards longevity being more popular. And also, you know, the stuff that he says people in Blue Zones do is kind of universal and seems good, for lack of a better word.

20:04I mean, it's like eat nutritious diet, fruits and vegetables, get plenty of physical activity, build physical activity into your daily life. Prioritize family and community. Don't smoke. Drink in moderation. I mean, even if Blue Zones are bunk or a bunch of hoo-ha, as you say, I mean, those seem to be like some worthwhile principles to follow. What's the trickiest thing to move in the world? My mind goes straight to carrying a very full beer from the bar to the table without any spillage. But no, there's something far more dicey, and scientists have finally cracked how to do it. Researchers at the CERN Particle Physics Lab in Switzerland have learned how to move antimatter and are preparing to take it on a truck to other labs, the first time anyone has ever moved antimatter.

20:50Antimatter is the most expensive material on Earth, requiring several trillion dollars just to make a single gram. And transporting it is not easy. The only time it's ever been done is in fiction. Dan Brown's novel Angels and Demons, when terrorists steal a quarter gram from CERN and plan to use it to blow up the Vatican. And that's kind of the problem with shuttling antimatter around. If it comes into contact with matter, both get annihilated instantly. The scientists say it won't result in any significant explosion if it rubs elbows with matter, but it would mean a lot of work and money will have gone down the drain.

21:25So they're taking remarkable precautions to make sure the antimatter stays isolated in a vacuum when it is moved. Toby, I can't wait for this. I can't wait for it either. but my first question was, why the heck are we moving it at all? And part of the reason is that antimatter can tell us a lot about just the origins of the universe, because technically, when the big brain happened, equal amounts of matter and antimatter were created. But if you look out in the known universe, there's a lot of matter out there. So why did the balance shift so heavily in favor of matter? These are the fundamental questions of our universe.

21:57And so, in order to study them, they want to compare matter with antimatter very closely to see where the differences are. And the reason why they can't do it is the current positioning of antimatter is affected by some magnetic fields of the earth. So they need to bring it to a place where it's less affected by that so they can more efficiently measure it. But yeah, I'm excited too. They're doing it on trucks too. You said that they're putting them in vacuums so they don't come in contact with antimatter. But what about, or come in contact with matter? But what about a little bump in the road or something like that?

22:29They're putting them on seven ton trucks and actually driving them through the countryside. So that would be quite the nervy piloting job of trying to drive. 10 and 2, Toby. Yeah, 10 and 2, eyes on the road. We need a helicopter police cam of this, like the OJ Bronco Chase. Yeah, it probably won't be quite as fast-paced, but it will be fun to watch. Of all the uses of AI that have arisen over the past year, I think this one is my favorite. When Mount Vesuvius erupted over 2 ,000 years ago, some papyrus scrolls actually ended up surviving. But the carbonized scrolls are incredibly delicate to handle and crumble if you try to unroll them.

23:11Enter the Vesuvius Challenge, a competition funded by some Silicon Valley entrepreneurs that promised to reward a cash prize to anyone who could find a way to peer inside the scrolls without actually unrolling them. Back in February of this year, a team of three students won the$700 ,000 grand prize using AI to decipher the scroll's hidden secrets. Despite the contest organizers estimating a less than 30 % probability of anyone actually meeting the contest criteria, the three students' machine learning algorithm deciphered more than 2 ,000 characters in the scrolls, exceeding the grand prize's requirements.

23:47This was definitely one of my favorite stories of the year, Neil, because it is using AI to do something extremely practical, actually. Extremely practical, extremely cool. And the people who won it show the global nature of this and how competitions like this can actually be really effective. I mean, the three, the guys who won the$700 ,000 prize were an Egyptian PhD student in Germany, a robotics student in Switzerland, and then a computer science student in Nebraska, all young, all in it. just to, they said it was like the most pure form of playing a video game. So I think this is cool and we'll probably see similar competitions to accomplish different things that machine learning can do.