Month: August 2016
Social media echo chambers and democracy
In 2009, I spoke at a conference in Madrid with Jim Margolis, who served as a Senior Advisor to Barack Obama in both his 2008 and 2012 campaigns for the White House. In his talk Jim explained how the 2008 campaign was the first presidential campaign where social media was decisive to win the elections. That success was later … Continue reading "Social media echo chambers and democracy"
Read more
Nice animation: how long until computers have the same power as the human brain? (via Mother Jones)
Exponential technological change
Read more
Join me for the Technology vs. Humanity book launch event in London Sept 8 2016!
Location still tbd (central London), but you can now sign up here. It’s a free event but seating is limited so… sign up quickly ! Fast Future Publishing is delighted to invite you to join us on September 8th for the launch of our latest FutureScapes title, Technology vs. Humanity. This is a groundbreaking new book from world-renowned Futurist … Continue reading "Join me for the Technology vs. Humanity book launch event in London Sept 8 2016!"
Read more
Let’s rewrite the business rules where people matter (via Tim O’Reilly)
One of the big reasons we’re moving back into a more socially polarised society – as seen recently in some countries of the EU, the UK and the US – is the continuous dilution of the middle class in many economies over the last 20-30 years, and tensions are rising around the globe. Aristotle wrote it down more than … Continue reading "Let’s rewrite the business rules where people matter (via Tim O’Reilly)"
Read more
A gallery of images on the ‘Technology versus Humanity’ theme
… related to my new book, Technology vs Humanity
Read more
10 dystopian scenarios for the future (via George Dvorsky)
We usually have a tendency to see the dangers far before they come and we are usually able to solve issues. However, we never seem to be able to get rid of utopian visions and dystopian warnings. George Dvorsky recently listed 10 Predictions About the Future That Should Scare the Hell Out of You on Gizmodo. Here are … Continue reading "10 dystopian scenarios for the future (via George Dvorsky)"
Read more
Moral Machine
From self-driving cars on public roads to self-piloting reusable rockets landing on self-sailing ships, machine intelligence is supporting or entirely taking over ever more complex human activities at an ever increasing pace. The greater autonomy given machine intelligence in these roles can result in situations where they have to make autonomous choices involving human life … Continue reading "Moral Machine"
Read more
Will smarter machines cause mass unemployment?
The idea that manual work can be carried out by machines is already familiar; now ever-smarter machines can perform tasks done by information workers, too. What determines vulnerability to automation, experts say, is not so much whether the work concerned is manual or white-collar but whether or not it is routine. Machines can already perform routine … Continue reading "Will smarter machines cause mass unemployment?"
Read more
The new tech overlords: technology companies are now officially the most powerful entities in the world
… and they are almost all based in the US (and soon… China). Read this incredible piece in The Atlantic. Stat below is via Statista. At the close of trading this Monday, the top five global companies by market capitalization were all U.S. tech companies: Apple, Alphabet (formerly Google), Microsoft, Amazon, and Facebook. Bloomberg, which reported on … Continue reading "The new tech overlords: technology companies are now officially the most powerful entities in the world"
Read more
Machines and human replacement (McKinsey report)
McKinsey analyzed the detailed work activities of more than 800 occupations from across the US economy to assess the percentage of time spent on activities with the technical potential for automation by adapting currently demonstrated technology. Read the detailed results on the technical potential for automation in various sectors. “While automation will eliminate very few occupations entirely in the next … Continue reading "Machines and human replacement (McKinsey report)"
Read more
Neuromorphic chips coming on your mobile device
IBM Research in Zurich has created the world’s first artificial nanoscale stochastic phase-change neurons to store and process data. This demonstration marks a significant step forward in the development of energy-efficient, ultra-dense integrated neuromorphic technologies for applications in cognitive computing. Read more about this exciting discovery and understand more about artificial neurons in this interview with Manuel Le Gallo, … Continue reading "Neuromorphic chips coming on your mobile device"
Read more