Earlier this week, scientists called for a ‘global moratorium’ on creating genetically modified babies. This, of course, is in contrast to the traditional way of mixing genes together, which I assume they still heartily endorse. The problem is that the same technology developed to prevent congenital diseases could be used Read more…
Facebook faces ongoing and growing scrutiny for its abuses of user privacy, not to mention of the truth. Last week, its CEO said it would explore offering communications tools that were private, secure, and then evaporated after being read or viewed (the quality is called ephemerality). “It’s a statement of the Read more…
If the old adage “you can always judge a man by the quality of his enemies,” holds true, then the Green New Deal is the real thing. Its opponents are deathly scared of it. Well, it’s not actually “a thing,” but rather a Resolution in the US House of Representatives. It’s Read more…
The belief that development of a sentient or self-aware AI is simply a matter of enough data, connections, and processing speed is based on the premise that even human consciousness is the product of material objects and processes. Francis Crick, the less overtly racist half of the duo who discovered Read more…
There are many theories for why 18th century mugs, or tankards in British taverns often featured glass bottoms. All of them are relevant to our modern worries about privacy and personal safety. One theory speaks to fear of state intrusion in our lives, as the British Army and Navy would Read more…
It’s a PR nightmare: A story appears that your client or boss thinks should have been about your company. Sometimes it comes with a demand that you contact the reporter and get your company’s name added to the piece, or a challenge to find some other media outlet to tell Read more…
When Amazon abruptly abandoned its plans to locate a headquarters facility in Long Island City, New York (which is a stone’s throw from Manhattan), reactions generally fell into two categories: Those who saw it as a foolish snub of the complex and necessary work of economic development…and those who saw Read more…
Recently, a couple hundred publicly listed companies signed a petition asking the American SEC to limit the activities of shareholder services firms — also called “proxy advisors” — like Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis. They cited the these firms’ influences, ulterior motives, and potential conflicts of interest could disqualify Read more…
Later today, President Trump is expected to sign executive order called the “American AI Initiative.” The preview publicity has been underwhelming, at best, and otherwise rather chilling. The supposed purpose of the document is to set out a game plan for America to compete with at least 18 other countries that have Read more…
I spent a week in the mid-1980’s auditioning for a job as a staff writer at the National Enquirer. The very thought that I’d even try was a shocker to people who knew me; after all, the newspaper specialized in stories about three-headed babies and alien abductions, liberally interspersed with Read more…