Jul 26 Technopessimism Is Bunk By Joel Mokyr In a 2011 Making Sen$e report, we explored the slowing of innovation with "The Great Stagnation" author Tyler Cowen. Editor's Note: The developed world enjoys the benefits of running hot and cold water, refrigerators and electric stoves, all… Continue reading
Jun 18 Watch Should Virtual Reality Make You Vomit? Should Virtual Reality Make You Vomit?… Continue watching
Jun 18 Widening the Experiential: Jaron Lanier Explains Virtual Reality By Jaron Lanier // Jaron Lanier, the widely regarded father of virtual reality, recounts his early experience introducing virtual reality to Hollywood and how his vision of his own technology differed from what some people wanted. Our interview with Lanier about his book,… Continue reading
Jun 11 Google: We Turned Over Information on a 'Tiny Fraction' of Users By Larisa Epatko In his first U.S. television interview since the latest news broke of the government's surveillance program, Google's chief legal officer David Drummond told PBS NewsHour senior correspondent Jeffrey Brown on Tuesday that the company has given the U.S. government information… Continue reading
Jun 11 Watch How Technology Widens Class Divisions Against (Free) Big Data: How Technology Widens Class Divisions… Continue watching
Jun 11 Why Government Should Be Paying You for Your Information By Jaron Lanier What if government paid for the information it collected on its citizens? Jaron Lanier, widely regarded as the father of virtual reality and the author of "Who Owns the Future?", suggests that would be one step toward balancing the… Continue reading
Jun 10 Biotech's Brave New Beasts By Ellen Rolfes Chickens that lay eggs with life-saving drugs inside. Cyborg rats with microchips embedded in their brains. Beetles wired for wartime surveillance. These are just a few examples of the science fiction-type fantasies that are becoming reality in the animal kingdom… Continue reading
May 24 Does Technology Offer Anyone a Big Break in Entertainment Industry? Changes in technology have opened up new opportunities in the entertainment industry, offering platforms for the most scrappy or eclectic of musicians, filmmakers and other creative artists. That's the argument of a new book, "The End of Big: How the… Continue reading
May 21 Group Seeks Help From Social Networks to Combat Hate Speech By Larisa Epatko Social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter have helped users mobilize around a common cause like never before. But what if their message is one of hate?… Continue reading
May 20 5 Questions: Why Yahoo Hopes Tumblr Will Expand Its 'Coolness' Photo illustration by PBS NewsHour created with Pic Stich Yahoo, the languishing tech pioneer, officially unveiled its acquisition of social blogging platform Tumblr on Monday. The $1.1 billion purchase by Yahoo could mean a whole world of things for… Continue reading