CategoryGlobal Technology
The Radio Frequency Spectrum: A Finite Natural Resource
The increasing demand for the radio frequency spectrum that our wireless technologies depend on is unsustainable long-term
Flashes of Genius: Hal Philipp’s Journey of Invention, Resilience
His groundbreaking work on optical sensors for automated doors and faucets laid the foundation for his career
COSM 2024: Intelligence, Tech, and the True Source of Prosperity
In a world saturated with pessimism, George Gilder is very much an optimist
COSM 2024: Is There Room at the Top for Intelligence?
Before there was technology, there was intelligence…
COSM: Wikipedia Co-Founder To Speak on Today’s Knowledge Risks
Larry Sanger is not a fan of the baked-in bias at Wikipedia today and wants to found an encyclosphere — like the blogosphere — insteadLarry Sanger, one of the founders of Wikipedia, will be speaking at COSM, Friday, November 1, at 10:30 am. His topic?: The increasingly pressing matter of preserving our knowledge. He should know. Originally a co-founder of Wikipedia, he has become increasingly critical of its role as a go-to source. In 2021, he warned, “If only one version of the facts is allowed then that gives a huge incentive to wealthy and powerful people to seize control of things like Wikipedia in order to shore up their power,” But let’s go back a bit Sanger, who has a Phd in philosophy (2000), was approached by entrepreneur Jimmy Wales that year to come to work for him on a project that evolved Read More ›
COSM: Ethernet Inventor Asks, Are We Ready for New IT Technology?
Bob Metcalfe will talk about new technologies like electromagnetic waves from the “dead zone” of the spectrum that are slowly becoming economically viable
Silicon Valley’s Trendy Ethic: Effective Altruism
How effective is it really? Does the underlying utilitarianism leave out some important things?
The Difference Smartphones Make to People With Hearing Loss
Engineering is not an arm-chair exercise. Engineers mut get their prototypes out in the field where people they don't know will use them in ways they can't imagine
The Allure of General Purpose Technologies
Generative AI is merely the most recent one.
How Life Differs From Matter: It Intentionally Uses Information
China: An inside look at Neo-Totalitarianism
Writing in the journal Dignitas, Heather Zeiger outlines the Chinese government’s attempt at total control of the everyday life of residents of XinJiang province
Organ Transplants: How the Internet Enables the Dark Side
Euthanasia activists offer to "ease" the donor organ shortage, and so do cartels that exploit the world’s most vulnerable poor
COVID Helped China Get Ahead on Genetic Therapies
Why is China trying to lead the world in genetic technology?
The Clock’s Ticking for TikTok
Biden admin might ban TikTok in the U.S. if company doesn't sellThe Biden administration is considering banning TikTok in the United States if the platform’s parent company, ByteDance, doesn’t sell it. The news arrives amidst growing concerns over national security and Chinese espionage tactics, particularly in light of the “spy balloon” that was shot down off the American east coast in February. ByteDance is a Chinese company, and as such, is subject to disclose its information to the Chinese Communist Party. Today, more than half of American states have placed bans on state-issued devices out of privacy and security concerns. Texas representative Paul Michael McCaul said, TikTok is a modern-day Trojan horse of the [Chinese Communist Party], used to surveil and exploit Americans’ personal information. It’s a spy baloon for your Read More ›
China: Protesters Evade Censors and Confront State Surveillance
Chinese citizens are known for their clever plays on words to evade social media censors.The graffiti on the bathroom wall at the university said there would be a gathering in honor of the people who had died in an apartment fire in Urumqi, Xinjiang. Bathrooms usually do not have surveillance cameras, so this announcement would probably go unnoticed by censors. It is better than risking punishment by posting on social media. In another city, Chinese citizens discretely shared information about the location of a vigil for the Urumqi victims on WeChat in the guise of dinner plans. A number of people died in the fire, whose toll was likely inflated because emergency vehicles were unable to access the building due to zero-Covid measures. Social media posts showed doors that were barred shut and barricades Read More ›
China: Massive Protests at Cell Phone Plant Continue
One accusation against Apple is that it has consistently failed to live up to its responsibilities as a global leader at the top of the supply chain.At the Foxconn plant in Zhengzhou where thousands of employees walked out on October 29, protests broke out on November 23. They were led by new hires staying on a campus dormitory after they learned that they would have to work an additional two months at lower pay before they receive their promised bonuses for coming to Foxconn to cover for the October exodus. Additionally, workers complained of inadequate food and fear of Covid exposure. Workers were offered 25,000 yuan (US$3,500) for two months of work, a 50% increase on the posted maximum wage. When they learned of changes in their agreement, employees at the dorm responded by pulling down outdoor tents (for Covid testing) and destroying a surveillance camera. Read More ›
Are Electric Cars Really the Future?
Panelists at the 2022 COSM conference discuss the pros and cons of electric vehiclesOn November 10th, the COSM conference hosted a special panel on electric vehicles (EVs for short). Brian Mistele, founder and CEO of Inrix, a leading provider of traffic information, car services, and transportation analytics, moderated the discussion. Aside from Mistele, the panel included Howard Hayden, professor emeritus at the University of Connecticut and editor of The Energy Advocate, Walter Myers, Principal Manager on Azure, Microsoft’s cloud-based platform, and Tony Posawatz, an automotive industry pioneer and chief executive of Fisker Automotive. They brought a range of perspectives on the pros and cons of EVs and where the auto industry is heading. Posawatz kicked off the panel by giving a brief overview of automobile history. He said, There was electric and folks Read More ›
What Your Made-in-China iPhone Really Costs – Updated 2
Chaos has ensued as workers have fled Xi’s latest Zero COVID lockdown at the iPhone factoryUpdated as of November 2, below the first vid: Fresh off an unusual third term as President, Xi Jinping found his brutal zero COVID policy facing an uncharacteristically harsh light of publicity. The BBC zeroed in on Apple phone workers fleeing a targeted site: Workers have broken out of Apple’s largest iPhone assembly factory in China after a Covid outbreak forced staff to lockdown at the workplace. Video shared online showed about 10 people jumping a fence outside the plant, owned by manufacturer Foxconn, in the central city of Zhengzhou. Sam Hancock, “Apple: Chinese workers flee Covid lockdown at iPhone factory” at BBC News (October 30, 2022) Taiwan-based Apple supplier Foxconn, has hundreds of thousands of workers in Zhengzhou, capital Read More ›
Haiti: Turning the Blazing Sun Into a Power Source
Brian Thomas and Kayla Garrett learned how to make solar power work in Haiti by listening to people, especially the Haitians they work withIn podcast Episode 209, Robert J. Marks continues the discussion with Brian Thomas and Kayla Garrett of JustEnergy about appropriate technology for energy-starved Haiti: Solar powering hospitals, orphanages & schools (October 20, 2022): Robert J. Marks: I was informed that people [in Haiti] on average make a dollar a day and they have to go out and they have to buy gas sometimes on the black market for $20, $30 a gallon. It’s just crazy.. So one of the things that you’re concentrated on as engineers is to increase the energy access to Haitians. So what’s the technology that you use to increase the energy access? Brian Thomas: Haiti doesn’t have any petroleum — any oil, gasoline, diesel… or even Read More ›