thenatureofmind

Bucky Fuller understood....

Eliminating the Human by David Byrne

I have a theory that much recent tech development and innovation over the last decade or so has an unspoken overarching agenda. It has been about creating the possibility of a world with less human interaction. This tendency is, I suspect, not a bug—it’s a feature. We might think Amazon was about making books available to us that we couldn’t find locally—and it was, and what a brilliant idea—but maybe it was also just as much about eliminating human contact. 

The consumer technology I am talking about doesn’t claim or acknowledge that eliminating the need to deal with humans directly is its primary goal, but it is the outcome in a surprising number of cases. I’m sort of thinking maybe it is the primary goal, even if it was not aimed at consciously. Judging by the evidence, that conclusion seems inescapable.

Eliminating the Human by David Byrne

Chinese Company Recalls Cameras, DVRs Used In Last Week's Massive DDoS Attack

For some time now, security researchers have been warning that our lackadaisical approach to Internet of Things security would soon be coming home to roost. Initially it was kind of funny to read how "smart" fridges, tea kettles and Barbie dolls did an arguably worse job than their dumb counterparts with a greater risk to privacy and security. But as we collectively realized that these devices not only created millions of new home and business attack vectors, but could also be used to wage historically-unprecedented DDoS attacks, things quickly became less amusing. 

Chinese Company Recalls Cameras, DVRs Used In Last Week's Massive DDoS Attack

Today's Brutal DDoS Attack Is the Beginning of a Bleak Future

This morning a ton of websites and services, including Spotify and Twitter, were unreachable because of a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack on Dyn, a major DNS provider. Details of how the attack happened remain vague, but one thing seems certain. Our internet is frightfully fragile in the face of increasingly sophisticated hacks.

 Today's Brutal DDoS Attack Is the Beginning of a Bleak Future

Tech Billionaires Are Asking Scientists For Help To Break Humans Out of Computer Simulation

Many believe that we live in a computer simulation. But it takes a billionaire and his money to ask scientists to help break us out of the simulation. The New Yorker recently did a profile about Y Combinator's Sam Altman. In the story, Altman discusses his theories about being controlled by technology and delves into the simulation theory.

Tech Billionaires Are Asking Scientists For Help To Break Humans Out of Computer Simulation

Google’s Robo-Cars Hit 2M Miles, Confirm Driving Is Dadgum Tricky

During my 30 minute tour of Mountain View, Google’s car never needed a hand. Granted, the Silicon Valley suburb is less complex than the City of Bridges, but the autonomous Lexus drives like an experienced human. At a four-way stop, it waited to see if an approaching cyclist would roll through the intersection (he did). When it spotted a pedestrian crossing some 30 yards ahead, it braked. When a red light turned green, it waited a full second before hitting the gas to ensure sure the way was clear.

Google’s Robo-Cars Hit 2M Miles, Confirm Driving Is Dadgum Tricky

Google Fiber: You Know How Comcast Is Making Netflix Pay Extra? We Don't Do That Kind Of Crap

The folks behind Google Fiber have fired a not-so-subtle shot at Comcast and Verizon for their recent efforts to make companies like Netflix pay extra. As we've noted, the big last mile access broadband access providers have realized that they can effectively get companies to pay twice by clogging certain points in the network. Even more nefarious, they're able to do this without violating a narrow view of "net neutrality" because net neutrality is focused on the last mile, rather than interconnection and peering. It's a really scammy process, which is part of those big broadband providers' attempts to extract monopoly rents out of their control over the last mile. 

Google Fiber: You Know How Comcast Is Making Netflix Pay Extra? We Don't Do That Kind Of Crap | Techdirt.

The subjective and ethical dimensions of the digital media experience

Unlike most people, MIT's Fox Harrell knew what he wanted to do in life from a young age. According to Harrell, an associate professor of digital media who studies self-expression in online media and creates tools to help developers add depth to their work, the impetus for his career came from an epiphany he had one day while doing computer programming as a kid in San Diego.

"You heard a lot about TV turning people into couch potatoes, so I thought, 'Whatever comes next, I would like to be a voice for the social and ethical dimension of that form,'" Harrell says. "I couldn't have predicted the exact form it would take, but that [moment] sparked the direction I would go in."

The subjective and ethical dimensions of the digital media experience.

The Truth About the End of NASA's Shuttle Program

Watch the Astounding Dexterity of Honda’s Dancing Humanoid Robot