Richmond, VA – In the name of “safety” and the “best interests” of children, the Virginia Senate this week passed a draconian age-verification bill for online platforms which would require youth who want to use…
Posts tagged technology
Don’t Be Fooled by Those Who Want to Save You From Tech Monopolies
In the heyday of the net-neutrality fight last decade, tech activists and companies warned of a doom scenario without it: Internet toll lanes, blocking of data and slower speeds. If Washington didn’t reclassify internet service…
Heard Tell Radio: Ukrainian Refugees, EU POV of Russia’s Aggression, & Technology Adapting To Crisis
Broadcasting extraordinaire Andrew Donaldson invites me on his excellent program Heard Tell to discuss the latest in Ukraine, the EU POV, and some finer points of technology. Subscribe to his show here. “On this Heard…
Why Consumers Should Oppose the Latest Senate Antitrust Actions
The U.S. Senate is considering two antitrust bills by Sen. Amy Klobuchar that would significantly harm both consumer choice and innovation. Unfortunately, these bills have been co-sponsored by members of both political parties, creating what…
Halting Targeted Advertising Kills Industries and Dumbs Down Tech
When we hear gripes about social media, one of the top concerns is targeted advertising. On any given day, this type of segmented advertising is used by the local hair salon searching for new clients,…
6: Technology as Pharmakon
The question of the impact of technology is a major theme in today’s culture. TV shows, books, and even entire fields of philosophy are dedicating to exploring the positive and negative impacts. Social media, an…
Facebook Trustbusters Are Motivated by Partisan Politics, Not Concern for the Consumer
Channeling the spirit of Theodore Roosevelt and nostalgia for the early 20th century Progressive Era, the latest bad idea being circulated in elite circles is to use the trust-busting power of the federal government to…
Crypto Imagination and the Coming Nightmare
In one of the episodes in the newest seasons of Netflix’s Black Mirror, a young woman visits a strange museum across the way from a gas station in the hot desert. Inside, she meets the…
The Innocents Abroad Episode 14: Ruled By Algorithms
On this episode, Todor and Yaël debate Man versus Machine. What happens when the machines take over? What about our simulated realities? Are we already taken over by algorithms? Are social networks actually expanding, or…
Technological literacy is doomed
My debut fiddling with computers was about 20 years ago, in 1996. My dad bought us a Compaq Presario running DOS. My brothers and I were able to learn a few pivotal lines of code,…