Podcast #20: Huei Peng and Driverless Cars
A tour of autonomous vehicle testing track Mcity with director Huei Peng answers many questions, and raises others.
Category: Government
Go Fourth
A brief note on America’s 242nd birthday.
New AI Paper Warns of Malicious Intent
A new report on AI examines what might happen when bad actors deliberately misuse the technology. Despite its importance, politicians may not be paying attention.
Portland Becomes First US City to Stop Fossil Fuel Expansion
Responding to powerful grass-roots activism, Portland’s government passed a law, recently upheld by the Oregon Court of Appeals, to arrest further construction or expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure in the city.
A Message From the Publisher
It’s our 2nd birthday! Publisher Mo Lotman shares a few thoughts about where we’ve come and where The Technoskeptic is going.
The Problems of Prediction, Part 2
Our overconfidence in our predictive abilities can be traced to the simple fact that the universe is infinitely complex.
Is Democracy Threatened by Chatbots?
Chatbots are becoming more sophisticated both in their ability to process language and gauge emotion. As social media increasingly influences our news and beliefs, this could be a big problem.
The Problems of Prediction, Part 1
Our technological mindset makes us more inclined to predict and gather ever-more data in service of prediction. We misunderstand the information we have, can’t know the information we don’t have, and yet we are more confident than ever.
Have the Robot Wars Begun?
Without much oversight or discussion, security robots have begun appearing in public spaces, causing conflicts and raising questions about privacy and human dignity.
CCTV: A View on Surveillance From Britain
British citizens may be the most visually surveilled people in the West, with an estimated one camera for every ten people. Critical awareness may slowly be dawning, but will it make any difference?