NEWS PAGE

A 17-year-old just built a mind-controlled prosthetic arm for $300.

Yes, $300. For something that usually costs $450,000. Let that hit you. A teenager, working from home, used AI, cheap materials, and 23,000 lines of code to build a device that reads brain signals without surgery, without implants, and without a $450K price tag.

This is not a feel-good story. It’s a warning shot. How can a high school student build something 1,500× cheaper than the industry standard? What does that say about innovation? About pricing? About who gets access to life-changing technology? Of course, medical prosthetics are expensive for real reasons: materials, testing, regulation, customization.

But let’s be honest — not all of that justifies a half-million-dollar price. This story exposes a simple truth: The future of accessibility won’t come from the system. It will come from the outsiders who dare to challenge it. If a 17-year-old can match top-tier prosthetics for a fraction of the cost… why aren’t these solutions available to the millions who need them?

What do you think — breakthrough moment or the start of a bigger revolution?