The Big Event

In October of 2014, 70 leading neuroscientists and psychologist gathered to criticize the, "frequently exaggerated market" as told in a consensus statement of the researchers. Specifically, they targeted the largely successful company Lumosity. Founded in 2005, Lumosity advertised, and still sells, an original set of "brain games" that aims to improve cognition for daily use. Largely appealing to elders and those at risk of cognitive decay, these games are more than just a past time.

Subscribers of Lumosity choose to pay for these games because they want to improve their mental health. However the 70 scientists that analyzed Lumosity's research (from Lumos Labs) and conducted their own research, found that Lumosity had been greatly exaggerating the capabilities of their games. With simple games being performed on a computer, using a mouse and sometimes pushing keys on the keyboard, the games are easy enough for almost anyone to play. Many of them have vibrant colors and other aesthetically pleasing designs. Sound effects and other audible additions are usually part of the "training" and are incorporated into the game. With all the bells and whistles Lumosity adds to their games, it is easy for the consumer to follow along naively. After all, Lumosity heavily promoted their research as legitimate and presented "user comments" that were actually part of competitions where prizes were presented to certain commenters.

The 70 scientists against Lumosity, most of them participants in other brain training labs, concluded that there is no evidence that any designed brain game is better for someones mental cognition than the average video game. This means that the subscribers to Lumosity could have been doing just as much for their mental health playing Call of Duty, a popular first-person shooter, than the games designed by the scientists at Lumos Labs. This is where the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) comes in.

Focusing on consumer interests, the FTC charged Lumosity/Lumos Labs 2 million dollars for deceiving their customers and consumers in general. The FTC also required that Lumosity inform their subscribers of the faulty and inaccurate claims, while also making redressing payments and providing easy access to discontinue the auto-renewal option for the monthly subscribers.