Some extol the “intellectual” capabilities of machines, others make sure to harvest the crowd-intellectual capabilities. Or, more accurately, collective human intelligence; they can call it that (for now) without risk. …
scientific truths
Could radioactivity be less harmful than we think? Wildlife has “returned” next to the concrete shell of the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine, which 30 years ago became a nightmare …
housekeeper
This elegant, understated, pastel-colored, vase-like object on the right side of the photograph belongs to the category of things that will soon become commonplace. Not around here, at first—but what …
knowledge accelerator
It could be the plot of a futuristic movie. Yet it is an idea for the organized devaluation of (also) intellectual labor. Not “sector by sector,” but as a general …
genetic sins
Although the mapping of (still only a tiny fraction of) human DNA and the DNA of other species may not deliver the magical gene correlations and “solutions” desired by marketers …
mites
These are images that only an electronic eye (an electron microscope in this case) could show us. And you will feel great disgust as soon as you learn what they …
farmers in offices
What urban farming? That’s old news. Let’s go for office farming! The Japanese company Pasona group, which specializes in providing advice on personnel selection and management and work organization, offers …
Alien Aggressor
The Russian engineer and welder (old specialty…) Sergei Kulagin (right) and his friends are assembling a robot they have baptized “Alien Aggressor”, a beast 3 meters tall and weighing 600 …
robotic reserve 2
We wrote about this robotic horse (LS3 model) a year ago (cyborg 2, b&g page 59) mocking (what else?) the American soldiers who, in case of malfunction, would have to …
paper reality
Early November 2015, 1.2 million subscribers of the print edition of the New York Times received, along with their newspaper, the cardboard construction shown in the image. Some of them …
thalidomide
Thalidomide was introduced in 1957, first in West Germany, as a harmless tranquilizer by the pharmaceutical company Chemie – Grünenthal. The sedative was specifically advertised (among other things) to pregnant …
digital skin
It is unknown what boost the technology / industry of digital sexual intermediaries will receive from the “digital skin” that some technicians are preparing, but it is reasonable that such …