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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Jonah Weinbaum joined a hacker house to work on a neurotech project in summer 2023.</li><li>The hacker house, Myelin, aimed to develop a wetware computer with $8,000 in funding.</li></ul>This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/weinbaumjonah/">Jonah Weinbaum,</a> a 19-year-old who moved into a hacker house during the summer of 2023. The following has been edited for length and clarity.After finishing my freshman year at the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/flying-from-nyc-to-michigan-every-week-for-work-supercommuter-2024-4">University of Michigan</a>, I planned to spend the summer on campus working on an independent computer science research project.A few days before the summer semester started, I was talking to a friend on campus when a random student sat down to join our chat. We talked about nonlinear dynamics and exchanged phone numbers.<h2 id="714b6817-e5b3-4c40-b120-5508c0bc21e3">He recruited me to live in a hacker house and work on a neurotech project</h2>Later that day, he sent me a message explaining that he was starting a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/heres-how-agi-house-bays-hottest-artificial-intelligence-hacker-2023-6">hacker house</a> called <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://myelingroup.github.io/">Myelin</a> and asked if I wanted to live there and work on a neurotech project for three months. I had heard of hacker houses before but didn't know of any around campus.The guy I met and three other students wanted to build a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/ai/news/a-living-computer-this-ai-made-from-interconnected-mini-brains-requires-a-million-times-less-power-than-chatgpt/articleshow/110909568.cms">wetware computer</a>. They pitched the idea to different VCs and other organizations and received around $8,000 in funding through Emergent Ventures and the 1517 Fund.Once they had the funds, they rented a house in Ann Arbor for three months. They aimed to recruit a handful of people to work on the project, hoping it would become a startup.He recruited me because he thought I was good at physics. The project's novelty seemed exciting, and I needed a break from just doing coursework.I was majoring in math, physics, and cognitive science. I wanted to do something interesting now instead of in seven years. After learning more about the opportunity, I said yes. I moved in in May 2023, when I was 18.<h2 id="7790a0c3-6eac-4d67-b5ca-f684dea03893">I got free rent in exchange for helping the team work on a project</h2><div type="image" title="a living room with carpet, chairs, and a piano" height="3024" width="4032" msid="114460240" hostid="261" sizebytes="876084"></div>When I looked for summer housing, it seemed like I'd have to spend around $1,500 for three months. It was a big draw that living in the hacker house came with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/live-rent-free-nyc-van-student-intern-adventure-2024-6">free rent</a> for the summer.The house also supplied some meals and covered the utilities. All I had to pay for was the extra food I wanted, but I ate very inexpensively, so my bills were around $30 a week.At any given time, 7-14 people from places like Michigan, Washington, Canada, Russia, and California lived there. Some people had internships in the latter half of the summer and left the house early.Not everyone was a student; some were later in their careers, but most of us were college-aged. They came because they wanted to work on and talk about <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-neurotech-allows-stroke-survivor-speak-brainwaves-thinking-paralyzed-2023-9">neurotech</a>, and such places aren't easy to find.A handful of us moved in on the same day, picked our rooms (I got lucky and had my own room), cleaned the house, and had our first meeting about the project and how we would operate.<h2 id="222a08af-7203-4c34-99d8-1ca341d37d3b">Every hacker house operates differently</h2>There were three teams, each with three or four people. The teams started with somebody presenting an idea for a team, and people joined if they liked it. The house was full of neurotech equipment and people working on projects ranging from personalized medicine to EEG-based object control and biological neuron computers.Whenever we woke up, at around 9 a.m., we started working on the project and worked on it all day until we went to bed at random late hours. We didn't do anything else. I was the only person enrolled in a summer class and completed my work during lunch or dinner breaks. I didn't travel or see friends outside this.Despite the high-tech focus, life in the house was simple. We had a piano that was played at regular intervals, food in the fridge, and beds. Some house members slept less than others, so there was almost always some conversation in the living room.<h2 id="03055209-bf20-48b1-bb79-9d4b4a1c1b2e">I spent my time doing research and sharing it with the other members of the house</h2>Our goal was to design a low-cost wetware computer that one could use for edge computer applications (robotics, drones, etc.).I worked with two other house members to develop a new paradigm for wetware computing. We eventually found a set of plausible methodologies for the project and wrote a white paper on how we could see them coming together. Being near the University of Michigan campus gave us constant opportunities to speak with researchers.We'd spend our days talking to researchers, reading papers online, and synthesizing everything. At the end of every week, we'd present our progress to the rest of the house.<h2 id="9f789bd1-74c3-40fe-979a-a181d5696bc2">When your time at a hacker house ends, the community doesn't</h2>By the start of the school year, we viewed our operations through a business lens and realized the potential for a business from a device we had been building: a microelectrode array.When school started in August 2023, we all moved out of the hacker house. I found other off-campus housing and returned to being a full-time college student.Since then, I've had the opportunity to stay at two other San Francisco hacker houses while capital-raising for the wetware computing startup I worked on at Myelin. I'm still in touch with everyone I met at the Myelin house. The community has been very valuable.<h2 id="0667f99a-ff70-4c84-9b5c-2f041248260b">Living in the hacker house changed the career path I was on</h2>Before this experience, I was confused about what path to take. I thought maybe I'd pursue a Ph.D. Living in the hacker house changed my mind completely. I'm now 100% on the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-become-successful-entrepreneur-according-to-career-coach-2024-4">entrepreneurship path</a>.I used to follow the flow and did things because that's what I saw others do. I was always aware of the fundamental disconnect in my perception of the future but wasn't sure how to mend it.My time in the hacker house taught me how to take a problem and investigate it intensely for a short period. I'll be able to speak about my neurotech research for decades.My focus has now shifted. Instead of continuing school at the University of Michigan, I'm off to live in a pro-town, a town built for deep-tech entrepreneurs, in Texas.

I lived in a hacker house for the summer when I was 18. It changed my career trajectory completely and I left college.

<ul><li>The era of <keyword id="107950" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="20" keywordseo="artificial-intelligence">artificial intelligence</keyword> (AI) and machine learning (ML) brings with it the threat of <keyword id="6064676" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="deepfakes">deepfakes</keyword> and ‘wetware’ attacks.</li><li>5G’s promise of turbo speeds will also make it stealing data a speedy undertaking.</li><li>Here’s a list of the five biggest <keyword id="6361948" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="cybersecurity">cybersecurity</keyword> threats that face internet users in 2020.</li></ul>The digital is world in growing at a rapid pace. Everyday, the dependence on computers to manage and support day-to-day operations is increasing. At the same time, cyberattacks at becoming more powerful as well. It doesn’t matter whether you call data ‘oil’ or ‘water’, it’s undeniable that data breaches and hacks are much more common than they were a year ago. The issue isn’t restricted to unauthorised access either. Manipulation of data can lead to a whole new level of financial extortion. “There is an urgency among businesses to safeguard their data and people, as attackers are increasingly harnessing new technologies and techniques to launch attacks on intellectual property and critical data. said Surendra Singh, senior director and country manager for India and SAARC at Forcepoint. Here are the five biggest cybersecurity threats that the world will face in 2020:

Cloud, 5G and 'wetware' attacks  — the 5 biggest cybersecurity threats of 2020

<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/game-changers/bionics"></div></div></div>The human body has the potential for amazing feats, but it also has built-in limitations - we can't hear certain tones, we see a limited range of colors, and we can't feel magnetic and electrical fields around us the way some animals do.
Some people choose not to accept those limits.
Neil Harbisson was born without the ability to see color. Now, he can perceive more than 360 colors and even discern the infrared spectrum. Kevin Warwick, the U.K.-based cybernetics professor and author of "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/I-Cyborg-Kevin-Warwick/dp/0252072154" target="_blank">I, Cyborg</a>," was the first person to implant a RFID chip into his arm, which then connected to systems at the University of Reading and could open doors and turn lights on or off. He even connected his nervous system to that of his wife, so they each could feel what the other person was feeling. Amal Graafstra, the founder of <a href="https://dangerousthings.com/" target="_blank">Dangerous Things</a>, sells a kit for $99 that you can buy right now and use to put a RFID chip in your own hand.
<div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right" style="width:400px"><div class="image on-image"></div></div>These characters are at the forefront of the biohacker, grinder, or cyborg movement, but they are not the only ones who have started to experiment with technological body modifications that do far more than a traditional piercing or tattoo.
Some think regular people are closer to accepting biohacking than many realize. Most of us are willing to trust computers to take over brain functions already. Search engines replace our memory for basic facts; Google maps replaces our sense of direction.
Bio- and body-hackers take things a step or two further. Using tattoo needles, scalpels, injection devices, microchips, or just wires, they embrace connectivity and step further into the cybernetic world.
To them, the limit is no longer the body. The limit is the mind, the uses we can come up with for this technology. Biohackers look at what technology is capable of and ask a question:
What do you want to be able to do?
Here are six body hacks that let people sense the world around them in new ways.
<div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right" style="width:400px"><div class="image on-image"></div></div>1. Magnetic implants can help you sense electric fields and pick up small metal objects. Magnets are commonly implanted into the hand or on a finger, allowing users to sense the location of a nearby electrical field, subway, or microwave.
Tim Cannon, one of the founders of biohacking collective <a href="http://www.grindhousewetware.com/" target="_blank">Grindhouse Wetwares</a> - whose slogan is "What would you like to be today?" - <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/superman/2013/03/cyborgs_grinders_and_body_hackers_diy_tools_for_adding_sensory_perceptions.single.html" target="_blank">told Slate that</a> he could tell not only where a current is come from, but could also distinguish between alternating current and direct current. A friend even calls him the "laptop whisperer," because he was able to use his abilities to diagnose a battery problem.
2. Magnets can also transmit sound and more. Biohacker Rich Lee implanted magnets in his ears that <a href="http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/160080-man-implants-magnetic-headphones-becomes-music-cyborg" target="_blank">work as hidden ear buds</a> by picking up a musical signal from a magnetic cord connected to a music player. He told Extreme Tech that he planned on linking these implants to his phone's GPS system so that directions could be transmitted directly to his head. Linked up to a microphone, he could use them as a listening device or phone as well.
<div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right" style="width:300px"><div class="image on-image"></div></div>3. Temporary digital tattoos can relay vital information about health. Biohackers are wary about saying that their devices relay health information - most don't want their work to be regulated as medical technology by the Food and Drug Administration, one reason that individuals can't use anesthesia when putting an implant in themselves. But biohacking research has led to the creation of temporary tattoos that can assess vital statistics. <a href="http://www.jacobsschool.ucsd.edu/news/news_releases/release.sfe?id=1353" target="_blank">Some monitor sweat</a> to gauge physical activity. Others can <a href="http://www.futurity.org/its-electric-wireless-tattoo-sticks-to-skin/" target="_blank">monitor the body's electrical activity, heart rate, and more</a> - and can transmit that data to computers and mobile devices.
Big companies, who are less intimidated by regulation, also seem aware of the potential of these tattoos. A Google-owned company is working on digital tattoos that could connect to smartphones and gaming devices and that could even serve as lie detectors, <a href="http://pdfaiw.uspto.gov/.aiw?PageNum=0&amp;docid=20130297301&amp;IDKey=67084E6A3F15&amp;HomeUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fappft.uspto.gov%2Fnetacgi%2Fnph-Parser%3FSect1%3DPTO2%2526Sect2%3DHITOFF%2526p%3D1%2526u%3D%25252Fnetahtml%25252FPTO%25252Fsearch-bool.html%2526r%3D1%2526f%3DG%2526l%3D50%2526co1%3DAND%2526d%3DPG01%2526s1%3D20130297301.PGNR.%2526OS%3DDN%2F20130297301%2526RS%3DDN%2F20130297301" target="_blank">according to the patent it filed</a>.
<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>
4. RFID Chips let the human body interact with electronic devices in a variety of ways. For some people, this is a means of unlocking doors, computers, and other devices. One researcher used an implanted chip to spread a computer virus.
An implant like this can connect to payment and security systems, as well as communication tools and so much more. This is one of those modifications where the question is, if you have a device that can interact with almost any machine, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/microchip-implants-in-healthy-people-2014-7" target="_blank">what do you want it to do</a>?
5. The Eyeborg allows Neil Harbisson to hear the colors of the world. A small antenna mounted over Harbisson's head views the colors of the world, including the ultraviolet and infrared spectrum, and vibrates a unique tone that only he can hear, allowing him to perceive the world in color - something he was born without the ability to do. It would take time for someone else to learn to use Harbisson's synesthesia-like approach to viewing the world, but you can <a href="http://eyeborg.wix.com/cyborg#!lab/czm2" target="_blank">download the software</a> to start building your own Eyeborg at home.
Harbisson says becoming a self-identified cyborg led him to found the <a href="http://eyeborg.wix.com/cyborg" target="_blank">Cyborg Foundation</a>, which works to help people extend their senses through technology and defends their right to do so. "I think we are now entering the age of transition into cyborgs," he <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bionic-technology-human-cyborgs-2014-7" target="_blank">told Business Insider</a>. "I'm sure it'll be normal to meet someone and ask 'what are your extra senses?'"
6. Biohacking implants can give you a Spider-Man-like ability to sense movement all around you. Different devices do this in different ways. Rich Lee says that connecting his ear implants to a range finder can create a sort of echolocation ability, which will hum as an object gets closer to him. A Cyborg Foundation Project called the 360º Sensory Extension vibrates if someone approaches from behind, and can even do so from different sides of the body. Grindhouse Wetwares has a project called <a href="http://www.grindhousewetware.com/bottlenose.html" target="_blank">Bottlenose</a> that captures sonar, ultraviolet, Wi-Fi, and thermal data and transmits information about these invisible fields to implanted magnets.
We have learned so much about how to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-most-incredible-applications-of-bionics-in-sports-2014-7" target="_blank">fix what's broken</a>, and now we are using that knowledge to hack the body <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/brain-hacking-will-make-us-smarter-and-more-productive-2014-7" target="_blank">and brain</a>. Humans no longer need to be limited to five senses.
So what do you want to be able to do?

6 Strange Body Hacks That Are Actually Useful

<ul><li>Content and services in India are being localised but terms and conditions for <keyword id="6391249" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="consent">consent</keyword> aren’t always in a local language.</li><li>Rakesh Deshmukh, co-founder and CEO of Indus OS, points out that non-English language internet users aren’t always tech-savvy.</li><li>This puts them at risk of giving away data without realising it.</li></ul>Localising content in India is a big trend. For most first-time internet users in India, English is not their first language — it’s not even their second. Global brands like <keyword id="6355629" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="google">Google</keyword>, Netflix, and Amazon are already on the path to diversification by offering Indian users multiple local language options. While there the quantity of local content is growing, the same can’t be said about consent. English-speaking users don’t necessarily read all the terms and conditions when giving permissions to apps. When the fine print is in a foreign language and filled with technical details, the problem gets compounded when it extends to local languages. Local users aren’t always the most tech-savvy individuals according to Rakesh Deshmukh, co-founder and CEO of Indus OS and the Indus App Bazaar— the largest indigenous app store in India. It currently has over 50 million users with plans to hit 100 million by the end of the year. "They might not be able to understand the permission that applications are asking for and giving those permissions away could harm them," he told Business Insider in an interview. The power to change things lies with regulators and developers The <keyword id="7729349" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indus-App-Bazaar">Indus App Bazaar</keyword> has two layers of security checks in play. One is its own internal review, and second is the security layer provided by Google. "For our own internal security, we conduct audits to check that all the data is secure. Then there’s the Android Security Framework which prevents malware applications from being installed," explains Deshmukh. Even internally, there are three sub-levels — an anti-virus check, an internal review team and proprietary tools to identify malicious apps or fake applications. Despite these safeguards, it is possible for data breaches to occur, which is why prevention is generally considered to be the best cure. "Larger stakeholders here are the regulatory body and the developers. From the app store point of view, if the app is malicious — we can blackball it. But we don’t have control over what applications are doing with the data once users have given their consent — that is beyond our purview," said Deshmukh. Which is why it’s so important to learn about cyber threats and the cybersecurity basics before accessing the internet, like ensuring you have your own anti-virus in place and only giving access permissions to applications that you’re sure that you can trust. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/the-sins-and-virtues-of-data-privacy-experts-discuss-where-the-responsibility-lies/articleshow/73689240.cms">The sins and virtues of data privacy — Experts discuss where the responsibility lies</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/heres-how-to-keep-your-phone-from-getting-hacked-like-jeff-bezos-according-to-a-cybersecurity-expert/articleshow/73685677.cms">Here's how to keep your phone from getting hacked like Jeff Bezos, according to a cybersecurity expert</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/cloud-5g-and-wetware-attacks-the-5-biggest-cybersecurity-threats-of-2020/articleshow/73054612.cms">Cloud, 5G and 'wetware' attacks — the 5 biggest cybersecurity threats of 2020</a>

Online content is being localised — but consent still has a ways to go

<ul><li>Indian external affairs minister <keyword id="3006063" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Subrahmanyan-Jaishankar">Subrahmanyan Jaishankar</keyword> explained why the <keyword id="6374106" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="ministry-of-external-affairs">Ministry of External Affairs</keyword> (MEA) needs its own new, emerging and strategic technologies (NEST) division. </li><li>As a stakeholder in national security, MEA must monitor cyber threats as well. </li><li>While the nature of technology may not be strategic, it can become so in the hands of a strategic player. </li></ul>Technology is no longer just about economics — it dictates a country's cyber might and leads to fears of governments spying on each other. However, the strategic importance of technology depends on a number of different factors, according to External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyan Jaishankar. Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue 2020, Jaishankar explained why the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) needs a separate division to monitor emerging technology. “It is no longer realistic to deal with technology as economics, which used to be an old fashioned way around 20-30 years ago. Today technology is very strategic,” he said. The question of national security Cyberthreats are on the rise. Threat intelligence company Group-IB found that cyberspace was increasingly weaponised in 2019. Their report found that cyber weapons were used to carry out numerous military operations last year. In addition, the number of state-sponsored attackers is on the rise. Jaishankar believes that since the MEA is a stakeholder in national security, it’s only logical that it should oversee technology that could pose a potential threat. “There are technologies that are strategic in nature and it’s important for a ministry that analyses foreign affairs, which contributes to national security, to have a set of people who are competent, trained and focused to analyse those strategically relevant technologies,” explained Jaishankar. His concerns seem valid in light of Lazarus — <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/heres-why-north-korean-hackers-attacked-indias-nuclear-power-plant/articleshow/72035492.cms">hackers based out of North Korea</a> — targeting Indian government institutions like the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/indian-nuclear-plant-hack-is-only-one-small-part-of-a-much-bigger-operation-according-to-a-cybersecurity-expert/articleshow/72033253.cms">KNPP</a>) in November last year. However, Group IB finds that two of seven new cyber-espionage groups in 2019 — BITTER and Sidewinder — were state-sponsored hackers based out of India. The strategic importance of technology varies Most people believe that technology which circumvents consent — like Pegasus spyware infiltrating WhatsApp accounts — are the biggest threats to national security due to their predatory nature. While that may be the primary determinant, Jaishankar feels technology can also become strategic on the basis of who’s using it. “There are technologies, which in the hands of strategic players, becomes strategic technology. Some of it is the nature of technology, some of it is the user of technology, deployment of technology and the intent of technology,” he said. So far, MEA’s new, emerging and strategic technologies (NEST) division said that it will monitor the implementation of 5G and artificial intelligence (AI). Its mandate, however, extends to developing India’s external technology policy in line with national security goals. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/cloud-5g-and-wetware-attacks-the-5-biggest-cybersecurity-threats-of-2020/articleshow/73054612.cms">Cloud, 5G and 'wetware' attacks — the 5 biggest cybersecurity threats of 2020</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/news/rbis-new-cybersecurity-guidelines-are-pushing-indias-1574-urban-cooperative-banks-to-bring-digital-services-up-to-snuff/articleshow/72381380.cms">RBI's new cybersecurity guidelines are pushing India's 1,574 urban cooperative banks to bring digital services up to snuff</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/indian-nuclear-plant-hack-is-only-one-small-part-of-a-much-bigger-operation-according-to-a-cybersecurity-expert/articleshow/72033253.cms">Indian nuclear plant hack is only one small part of a much 'bigger' operation, according to a cybersecurity expert</a>

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I lived in a hacker house for the summer when I was 18. It changed my career trajectory completely and I left college.

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