I’ve long been interested in how technology influences our minds. The rise of smartphones and social media is driving a shift in how we feel, what we believe, and how we process information. It’s one of the greatest stories of our time.
To be trusted by humans, robots need to read the room
Depending on the context, a robot dog can be loved — or loathed.
Experience Magazine
Your workouts could charge your smartwatch
New biofuel cell technology can use sweat — and maybe more — to power small electronics.
Experience Magazine
After a ‘post truth’ presidency, can America make facts real again?
American discourse has gone from “you’re entitled to your own opinion, but you’re not entitled to your own facts” to an embrace of falsehoods that one observer dubs a “national reality disorder.”
Christian Science Monitor
Why this sci-tech journalist ditched his smartphone
Monitor staffer Eoin O’Carroll is no Luddite. But after a decade of being tethered to a smartphone, he’s decided to dial it back to a physical keypad.
Christian Science Monitor
Tech overuse: Is it time to unplug?
Technology is often painted as the key to the future. But some people are unplugging to preserve tech-free aspects of society.
Christian Science Monitor
Why it’s OK to watch cat videos
Cat video celebrities like Grumpy Cat, Lil Bub, and Henri represent an oasis of purity and happiness in a complicated media landscape.
Christian Science Monitor
How ads hijacked the dream of the internet. Can digital citizens fight back?
In the 1990s, Silicon Valley promised a global virtual community that would level hierarchies and empower individuals. Instead, we wound up with a habit-forming outrage machine that spies on us. What went wrong?
Christian Science Monitor
Why does Wikipedia (mostly) work?
In an era of misinformation, the free online encyclopedia remains largely above the fray.
Christian Science Monitor
From fake news to fabricated video, can we preserve our shared reality?
The advent of inexpensive and readily accessible fabricated video production brings new meaning to the phrase ‘seeing is believing.’ Combatting falsified footage demands a shift among news outlets and news consumers, experts say.
Christian Science Monitor
How these librarians are changing how we think about digital privacy
The Library Freedom Project aims to train librarians in the basics of digital surveillance, adding to a long tradition of public libraries standing in opposition to state and corporate power.
Christian Science Monitor
How digital media fuels moral outrage – and what to do about it
If we don’t want a handful of technology companies determining how the rest of us express morality in the public sphere, the economic model underpinning social media may have to change, researchers caution.
Christian Science Monitor
Should a self-driving car ever run people over on purpose?
In a world of self-driving cars, collisions will be rare, but occasionally unavoidable. How do we program them to ensure that they are making the most ethical decisions?
Christian Science Monitor
How information overload helps spread fake news
Mathematical modeling of social networks reveals how misinformation finds its way to the top – and offers clues for how to dampen the spread of false information.
Christian Science Monitor
How Osama bin Laden’s death sparked a fake Martin Luther King quote
A Facebook user’s message about Osama bin Laden’s death quickly mutated into a misattributed quote by Martin Luther King, showing us all how quickly the Internet can generate an urban legend.
Christian Science Monitor
Did a Jerusalem court really sentence a dog to death by stoning?
The BBC, Agence France Presse, and Time magazine all erroneously reported that a rabbinical court in Jerusalem had sentenced a dog to death by stoning. How did they fall for it?
Christian Science Monitor