[ad_1] A blunt explanation for why technology corporations — consumer facing ones, at least — are taking an unusually bold stand on racism is simply that they are following the public. Public interest lawyer Bryan Stevenson has talked about how, even if the North won the legal battle for racial equality in 1865, the South […]
Category: longread
DeepMind and Oxford University researchers on how to ‘decolonize’ AI
[ad_1] The paper, published this month in the journal Philosophy & Technology, has at heart the idea that you have to understand historical context to understand why technology can be biased. “Everyone’s talking about racial bias and technology, gender bias and technology, and wanting to mitigate these risks, but how can you if you don’t […]
The influencers of pandemic gardening
[ad_1] Espiritu is behind Epic Gardening, the hugely popular, multiplatform gardening social media presence. At age 32, the San Diego-based gardener has laid down roots in YouTube (660,000 subscribers), Instagram (221,000), TikTok (523,000), even Pinterest, and his follower count easily crests 2 million across them. Thanks to a mix of advertising revenue and brand deals […]
Petit Depotto, ‘Gnosia’ and the new, obsolete game
[ad_1] The Vita is far from the oldest platform pushing past its expiration date. Avid communities are devoted to the 38-year-old Commodore 64, 40-year-old Atari machines, almost every Sega console and Nintendo’s 3DS and Game Boys. Console gamers bond deeply with the idiosyncrasies of each device, each with its own specs and technical limitations. “You […]
Is going to space truly essential during a pandemic?
[ad_1] Moon-mining machinations are perhaps the most grandiose example of space work continuing through the pandemic, but they’re far from the only ones. Few might immediately think of astronauts as essential workers or rocket launches as mandatory for the nation’s survival. But based on the permitted activities of both NASA and private companies, space has […]
Every musician is basically a YouTuber now
[ad_1] Maia, a 19-year-old singer-songwriter from California, enjoys all the bona fides of a budding pop superstar. The Bay Area teen sold out her first US tour last spring with only an EP released. Her anticipated debut album, The Masquerade, dropped in the fall and spurred a gushy profile in The New York Times, exalting […]
Subscription services sell artisanal food, too
[ad_1] On the other end of the ambition spectrum, serial entrepreneurs like Santiago Merea are also throwing their hat into the subscription ring. A behavioral economist whose last company was acquired by recipe app Yummly, Merea’s now all-in on food for babies. His company Raised Real delivers flash-frozen, plant-based “supermeals” for kids aged six months […]
The importance of Apple and Google’s rare collaboration on contact tracing
[ad_1] The unprecedented collaboration on an interoperable infrastructure between Apple and Google — which came together in two weeks and was announced last Friday — has now set the stage for a robust, potentially global contact tracing system. The idea of contact tracing is straightforward. When someone is infected with a disease, public health workers […]
Using Lego therapy for autism
[ad_1] Play therapy is not new in the autism field; therapists have incorporated play into treatments and interventions for decades. Lego-based therapy, however, posits that there is something unique about Lego itself, which helps autistic children acquire social skills on a level that’s more resonant than rote. Founded in 1932 by Danish carpenter Ole Kirk […]
Online-only platforms are going offline with permanent spaces
[ad_1] Hunker describes itself as an editorial website to help “first-timers improve their homes — with inspiring tours, practical solutions and design advice for real people.” Shopify is an all-in-one commerce platform where users can start and run an online business, facilitating 820,000 online stores since June 2019. Depop calls itself “the creative community’s marketplace” […]