Their Bionic Eyes Are Now Obsolete and Unsupported
spectrum.ieee.org
These early adopters found out what happened when a cutting-edge marvel became an obsolete gadget... inside their bodies.

TL;DR: Disability tech company working on eye implants goes bankrupt and shuts down without telling any of their patients or having any continued support or maintenance for the implants. As a result, many of their patients are now without vision again. Their $500k eye implants can't be removed without risking their health, but also can cause adverse effects if left in, and also prevent patients from getting MRIs for brain tumors and such.

    • Quimby [any, any]
      ·
      3 years ago

      tell me about it. like, the whole idea of a "technology gold rush" is so gross. the goal immediately becomes "making money with the tech" instead of "making things with the tech".

      • p_sharikov [he/him]
        ·
        3 years ago

        It's a good historical comparison too, because a lot of the money in the gold rush was actually in selling stuff to people who came in to look for the gold, most of whom left broke. Scamming naive "entrepreneurs" in a new industry with little oversight has always been very profitable.

        • Quimby [any, any]
          ·
          3 years ago

          yep. even I fell for it recently, in a manner of speaking. doing some stock trading and racked up quite the bill in commissions. didn't notice/mind at first because I was doing well, but when my trades started going south, I became more aware that my commissions bill only kept growing.

          • p_sharikov [he/him]
            ·
            3 years ago

            I don't even know what that means, so no doubt I would have been an easy mark. I keep my money in Iraqi dinars and vintage kalashnikovs.