By now, everyone is so familiar with genetic engineering that if we read some scientist had crossed an octopus with a watermelon to create a waterpus, we wouldn’t blink.  We’d accept it because we’re already familiar with genetically altered tomatoes that look great but tastes

“Don’t expect Congress to protect you against all possible data invasions,” says Sergey Feldman, a data scientist, when asked to comment on “deep learning,” the latest frontier in computing. (“Do Androids Dream of Electric Lolocats?” by Dana Liebelson, Mother Jones, Sept

Look out internet shoppers, two electronic systems  called “dynamic pricing,” and “differential pricing,” are stalking you.  Dynamic pricing is the program retailers use to adjust to supply and demand.  Airlines determine fares with it, for example, and so do hotels.  The

From time to time, I’ve speculated about how changes in technology will affect the future. (Blogs 7/25 & 2/14/14)  Some consequences I hadn’t foreseen, however, until The Week brought them to my attention. (8/29/14)  Let’s think about prostitution for a moment.  Even the

In his new book, Super Intelligence, Nick Bostrom, director of Oxford’s Future of Humanity Institute, issues a warning about Artificial Intelligence (AI). Huffington Post  One of the problems lies with language which can been dangerously ambiguous. Tell a robot its mission is to m

Many years ago, I was diagnosed with a form of lymphoma for which there was no treatment.  At best I was given 5 years to live.  To confirm the diagnosis, sample tissues removed from the lump in my body were shipped to medical facilities around the country.  The reports came back w

Recently, I deplored the way Twitter symbols had infiltrated our language.  (Blog 8/26/14)    But I was an innocent.  I’d no idea how emojis, those little symbols used to clarify an electronic messages, had exploded into a complete language seen not only on social networks but

I sat down to lunch with a former student recently.   He’s now a tenured English professor at a major university, so we fell into a discussion about how digital communication is transforming our language.  After we’d finished our quiches and said our goodbyes,  I came home com

I shocked a few friends when I announced that I’d sold my home and would be moving into a retirement center.  They weren’t surprised because they thought I was too young.  My grey hair and sagging jowls say otherwise.  So why the eyebrows lifted to form a question?  I suspect

Unlike the past when technology eliminated some jobs but created others, the trend in innovation today is toward job elimination. (“In the Future, Will There be Any Work Left for People to do?” by Geoff Colvin, Fortune, June 16, 2014, pgs. 193-200.)  According to writer Geoff Col