Neuromancer 2022
The collapse of a startup leaves implanted medical devices in > 700 people
The unavailability of the proprietary SW needed to recalibrate the devices and maintain its effectiveness, and the draining of batteries, will leave them without treatment and with HW implanted in their bodies
They have to hack their own implants
And it is not an isolated case but a trend
https://www.nature.com/immersive/d41586-022-03810-5/index.html
@pheras "The human cost of neurotechnology failure" .. why is that in the title, it is about companies failing, not technology. The technology was probably going to need maintenance anyway.
Open source might have mitigated, but only solves it if the know-how and resources to use that information is there.. (and as it mentions, insurers are likely to not co-operate with non-institutional sources)
@jcast @pheras continuity of organisations is *definitely* not in the job description of engineers.
It *does* end there ..by definition.. but of course definitions or job descriptions don't mean those people shouldn't point out organizational problems, or blindly work with people who ostensibly it's job it is to run orgs responsibly, but don't..
Absolutely agree that engineers should in principle not be blamed for managerial decisions.
But in the XXI century, not considering the full product cycle in a technological project, in particular a health device, is at best short sighted. It's a technical fault. Technology cannot be considered outside its social context.
Pedro de-las-Heras-Quiros
Jasper 🍉
j@mastodon