brave new world

Google Glass looks silly now, but we’ll all be wearing mini-computers soon

"Add new sensors, as well as imaginative software, into these mini-computers and the impact could be significant. Non-invasive blood testing will soon be a reality, transformative for diabetics who will no longer have to puncture themselves several times a day, as well as those who have to monitor cholesterol. Health apps will be able to monitor those blood test results, and sync with the restaurant as the wearer walks in, to suggest the most suitable low-GI or low-cholesterol meal. The behavioural implications could be profound, but we need to be interested in understanding and exploring the potential so that we are ready for the debate about who has access to this data." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGoogle Glass looks silly now, but we’ll all be wearing mini-computers soon

Bruce Schneier: iPhone Fingerprint Authentication

"Fingerprint readers have a long history of vulnerabilities as well. Some are better than others. The simplest ones just check the ridges of a finger; some of those can be fooled with a good photocopy. Others check for pores as well. The better ones verify pulse, or finger temperature. Fooling them with rubber fingers is harder, but often possible. [..] Apple's move is likely to bring fingerprint readers into the mainstream. But all applications are not equal. It's fine if your fingers unlock your phone. It's a different matter entirely if your fingerprint is used to authenticate your iCloud account. The centralized database required for that application would create an enormous security risk." Continue reading →

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A New System to Link Human Knowledge with Machine Data

"The Office of Naval Research is looking into the approach as a potential model for distributed decision-making teams charged with quick response. The RPD decision-making framework 'acts as an intelligent team partner that is able to share information without overloading people and enhances the quality of information by sharing relevant facts,' Yen said. In practical terms, that means being able to more quickly identify a terrorist leader, for example, by recognizing patterns of behavior or similar interactions or social connections among members of terrorist cells. 'This agent architecture can not only enhance the capabilities of anti-terrorist analysts in identifying terrorist threats, [...] '" Continue reading →

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Elysium: The Technological Side of the American Police State

"While much has been said about Blomkamp’s use of Elysium to raise concerns about immigration, access to healthcare, worker’s rights, and socioeconomic stratification, what I found most striking and unnerving was its depiction of how the government will employ technologies such as drones, tasers and biometric scanners to track, target and control the populace, especially dissidents. Mind you, while these technologies are already in use today and being hailed for their potentially life-saving, cost-saving, time-saving benefits, it won’t be long before the drawbacks to having a government equipped with technology that makes it all-seeing, all-knowing, and all-powerful far outdistance the benefits." Continue reading →

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Drugs, steel, and MKULTRA: engineering the super-soldier

"For those who still wonder whether the famed CIA MKULTRA mind control program of the 1950s continued after the announced cut-off date, your question is answered. Coerced brain and behavioral conditioning is at the core of creating the super-soldier. The military can’t afford to risk trillions of dollars on pharmaceutical enhancement and body-part replacement, without also controlling the thoughts, responses, and actions of its high-priced personnel. Finally, consider this. An all-out operation to transhumanize the military could not take place unless there is absolute dedication to fighting wars without end. You don’t re-build humans for a future of skirmishes or peace treaties." Continue reading →

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‘Data is the new oil’: Tech giants may be huge, but nothing matches big data

"'Data is the new oil,' declared Clive Humby, a Sheffield mathematician who with his wife, Edwina Dunn, made £90m helping Tesco with its Clubcard system. Though he said it in 2006, the realisation that there is a lot of money to be made – and lost – through the careful or careless marshalling of 'big data' has only begun to dawn on many business people. About 90% of all the data in the world has been generated in the past two years (a statistic that is holding roughly true even as time passes). There are about 2.7 zettabytes of data in the digital universe, where 1ZB of data is a billion terabytes (a typical computer hard drive these days can hold about 0.5TB, or 500 gigabytes)." Continue reading →

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School Has Become Too Hostile to Boys

"As school begins in the coming weeks, parents of boys should ask themselves a question: Is my son really welcome? A flurry of incidents last spring suggests that the answer is no. In all these cases, school officials found the children to be in violation of the school’s zero-tolerance policies for firearms, which is clearly a ludicrous application of the rule. But common sense isn’t the only thing at stake here. In the name of zero tolerance, our schools are becoming hostile environments for young boys. As our schools become more risk averse, the gender gap favoring girls is threatening to become a chasm." Continue reading →

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Human Intelligence is Slowly Declining: Genetics Or Food?

"Researchers from Harvard have found that a substance rampant in the nation’s water supply, fluoride, is lowering IQ and dumbing down the population. One study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that pesticides, which are rampant among the food supply, are creating lasting changes in overall brain structure — changes that have been linked to lower intelligence levels and decreased cognitive function. UCLA researchers found that HFCS may be damaging the brain functions of consumers worldwide, sabotaging learning and memory. In fact, the official release goes as far to say that high-fructose corn syrup can make you ‘stupid’." Continue reading →

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How Gamers Could Save the (Real) World

"Three years ago, game designer and author Jane McGonigal argued that saving the human race is going to require a major time investment—in playing video games. 'If we want to solve problems like hunger, poverty, climate change, global conflict, obesity, I believe that we need to aspire to play games online for at least 21 billion hours a week [up from 3 billion today], by the end of the next decade,' she said in a TED talk. Her message was not ignored—and it has indirectly contributed to the formation of something called the Internet Response League (IRL). The small group has a big goal: to harness gamers’ time and use it to save lives after disasters, natural or otherwise." Continue reading →

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On Target Pressure Points: Educational Compliance

"As John W. Whitehead explains in his new book, A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, our nation's children are not being spared from the police state mentality which is slowly gripping all aspects of American society. While parents get ready to send their children back to school, Whitehead provides a chilling reminder that the police state mindset is pervasive in our public schools, with students becoming the victims of inflexible zero tolerance policies, mass surveillance, and arrest for childish, noncriminal behavior." Continue reading →

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