The Risks of Public Data
A desire for convenience and openness has left local and state public records easily available for mining, combining, and abuse.
Book Review: Re-Engineering Humanity
Brett Frischmann and Evan Selinger warn that real freedom of will and human agency will require the ability to be “off.”
Podcast #34: Ben Green on Smart Enough Cities
Data technology researcher and author Ben Green punctures the myth of the smart city.
Undoing Dystopia: a Review of Douglas Rushkoff’s Team Human
A review of tech and social critic Douglas Rushkoff’s latest book, Team Human.
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.
The Death of Natural Childbirth
The second part of a series on childbirth examines how natural birth has been systematically disabled, at the cost of bonding and health.
The Attack on Natural Childbirth
Over the past century or so, the most natural and integral part of the human life-cycle—birth—has been systematically medicalized and institutionalized, at the expense of the body’s own wisdom.
When Developers Can’t Explain Their AI, Laws No Longer Apply
The hows and whys of the decisions of machine-learning algorithms are increasingly opaque, even to their programmers. That makes laws and norms increasingly difficult to apply.
iPhone, Therefore I Am
Once we’re all parroting back Wikipedia entries to each other, what unique knowledge or wisdom do we have to offer?
The Limits of Efficiency
Demanding convenience in every aspect of life might have some rather inconvenient effects: the atrophying of skills, self-worth, and wisdom.