AI is killing choice and chance – which means changing what it means to be human
Feb 26, 2021 14:51 pm UTC| Technology
The history of humans use of technology has always been a history of coevolution. Philosophers from Rousseau to Heidegger to Carl Schmitt have argued that technology is never a neutral tool for achieving human ends....
Facebook versus News: Advertising is the real problem
Feb 26, 2021 14:47 pm UTC| Technology
The fight between Facebook and the Morrison government is over almost before it began. Having drastically overplayed its hand by banning a vast range of content, Facebook has been forced to settle for what appear to be...
A token sale: Christie's to auction its first blockchain-backed digital-only artwork
Feb 26, 2021 14:45 pm UTC| Digital Currency Technology
Since May 2007, US-based digital artist Mike Winkelmann (who goes by the name Beeple) has posted a new artwork online every day. He posted the 5,000th one in January, and has now packaged them into an enormous digital...
Why Canada should invest in 'macrogrids' for greener more reliable electricity
Feb 26, 2021 14:44 pm UTC| Technology
As the recent disaster in Texas showed, climate change requires electricity utilities to prepare for extreme events. This global weirding leads to more intense storms, higher wind speeds, heatwaves and droughts that can...
Facebook's news blockade in Australia shows how tech giants are swallowing the web
Feb 26, 2021 14:33 pm UTC| Technology
When Facebook disabled Australians access to news articles on its platform, and blocked sharing of articles from Australian news organizations, the company moved a step closer to killing the World Wide Web the...
Apple's new emojis are more ammunition for the online generation wars
Feb 26, 2021 14:22 pm UTC| Technology
When I saw the news that Apple would be releasing 217 new emojis into the world, I did what I always do: I asked my undergraduates what it meant to them. We barely use them any more, they scoffed. To them, many emojis are...
Three ways to encourage companies to keep our data safe
Feb 26, 2021 14:19 pm UTC| Technology
With online shopping, loyalty programs, smart devices and many other aspects of our daily lives, the companies that make it all possible can collect vast amounts of our personal data. Sometimes its just common sense, like...
In the rush for coronavirus information, unreviewed scientific papers are being publicized