For some with personal connections to past mistakes, the consequences of unfettered ingenuity are no more easily ignored than mushroom clouds on the horizon
BY LEARNING ABOUT THE MASS MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX, I CAME TO UNDERSTAND MY GRANDFATHER
technology
IN “SMARTPHONE SOCIETY,” BIG QUESTIONS ABOUT SMALL DEVICES
"That’s kind of the sentiment that both the government and these [smartphone] companies would like you to have—this feeling of powerlessness. And that’s the reason I try to keep a positive tone in the book."
OCCUPIED: WHAT ARE YOU MISSING WHILE YOU’RE SCANNING INSTA?
The idea is hardly earth-shattering—just get a bunch of people socializing together who are all agreeing to set aside their devices for two hours.
DEEPLY INVOLVED: A CAMPUS-BORN ENGAGEMENT STARTUP GRADUATES AND EXPANDS
When officials in Newton want to engage their constituents, they have an easy way to connect. Using tools and software from the Boston startup Involved, they’re able to, for example, gauge how much more money ratepayers are willing to spend to bring in more renewable energy.
THE FANTASY ROBOTS OF BOSTON DYNAMICS
Relax—we’re a lot further away from an automaton takeover than you may think
SEA LEVEL RISE IS JUST ONE OF BOSTON’S WORRIES
As Earth approaches several catastrophic global warming “tipping points”
Before writing more columns examining Boston city government’s emerging plans to cope with the effects of global warming, I think a quick review of what area residents are likely to face in the coming decades is in order. Because it’s important to disabuse ...
THE SEAPORT FLOOD IS JUST THE BEGINNING
Unless Boston builds proper defenses against global warming-driven sea level rise
So, Boston’s Seaport District flooded early this month during a bad snowstorm in the midst of several days of arctic temperatures. And nobody could be less surprised than me. Because I’ve spent a lot of the last quarter century ...
ON MAKERSPACES AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Making can be cool, but conscious making is cooler
For many of us living in and around Boston in recent years, it has become common to see lots of communications from makerspaces around holiday time. Which is totally understandable. Such creative centers produce neat things year-round, so it’s only natural ...
VERIZON 101: YOU CAN STOP CONGRATULATING THIS BEHEMOTH FOR ITS STUDENT IPAD PROGRAM RIGHT NOW
It’s something between ironic and nauseating that Superintendent Tommy Chang and Mayor Marty Walsh are making it look like Verizon, of all entities, is here to save the day.
CRITICAL UPDATE: LOBOTOMASS CONT.
Softbank, maker of a robot named Pepper that can “read human emotion,” is apparently stepping up its involvement in the AI sector.
