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Applied AI·August 6, 2026·1 min read

This Startup Will Pay You $50 to Let AI Read Your Mind

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A startup paying people $50 for brain data is a reminder that neurotech is following the same pattern as early genomics — cheap consumer acquisition now, long-term data moat later. If you’re anywhere near biometrics or BCI, get ahead of the consent, storage, and secondary-use questions before regulators and users do it for you.

Applied AI

Sources: Canva slashed revenue growth forecast as heavy use of new AI features drove up costs and slowed their rollout, while more Canva users turned to ChatGPT

Canva’s AI features driving up infra costs while users defect to ChatGPT is the downside of bolting expensive models onto a freemium base without a clear monetization or retention wedge. If you’re adding AI to a mass-market product, model cost, usage caps, and substitution risk need to be designed into the business model, not patched after launch.

Applied AI

Quote of the day by computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton on AI: 'It is hard to see how you can prevent the bad actors from using it for bad things' — a pessimistic take on the domination of new technologies by those with ulterior motives

Hinton’s line about bad actors is a reminder that AI risk is now assumed, not hypothetical, in board and regulator conversations. Teams deploying advanced models should expect more scrutiny on abuse cases and be ready with concrete mitigations, not just productivity narratives.