Tag: tech

• China’s Plans to Win Control of the Global Order

  July 15, 2020

  The Chinese Communist Party leadership believe they are in the midst of an ‘intense, ideological struggle’ for survival and that to win they must defeat the West. https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/china-plans-global-order more ›

• The TikTok War

  July 15, 2020

  Over the last week, as the idea of banning TikTok in the U.S. has shifted from a fringe idea to a seeming inevitability (thanks in no small part to India’s… more ›

• Alphabet’s Loon starts beaming internet from balloons in Kenya

  July 9, 2020

  Alphabet’s Loon project has finally launched its internet-delivery balloons in Africa following a deal with the Kenyan government. It marks a significant milestone for Loon, once one of Google’s “moonshot”… more ›

• The startup taking on Apple and Snapchat in a mini-app war

  July 5, 2020

  Here’s Dmitry Shapiro’s big idea: apps that go inside your apps. Want to play a game inside a Reddit post, make a GIF without leaving the iMessage window, or pick… more ›

• The Walkman, Forty Years On

  June 30, 2020

  Even prior to extended quarantines, lockdowns, and self-isolation, it was hard to imagine life without the electronic escapes of noise-cancelling earbuds, smartphones, and tablets. Today, it seems impossible. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-walkman-forty-years-on more ›

• From HAL 9000 to Westworld’s Dolores: the pop culture robots that influenced smart voice assistants

  June 22, 2020

  Last year, nearly one third of Australian adults owned a smart speaker device allowing them to call on “Alexa” or “Siri”. Now, with more time spent indoors due to COVID-19,… more ›

• TikTok Finally Explains How the ‘For You’ Algorithm Works

  June 21, 2020

  The first thing you see when you open TikTok is the platform’s For You page: an endless stream of videos uniquely tailored to each user. https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-finally-explains-for-you-algorithm-works/ more ›

• Exclusive: Obscure Indian cyber firm spied on politicians, investors worldwide

  June 10, 2020

  LONDON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A little-known Indian IT firm offered its hacking services to help clients spy on more than 10,000 email accounts over a period of seven years. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-cyber-mercenaries-exclusive-idUSKBN23G1GQ more ›

• Here’s how Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri answer the question, ‘Do black lives matter?’

  June 9, 2020

  Digital assistants from Amazon, Apple, and Google state their support for the Black Lives Matter movement when prompted (via Business Insider). https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/8/21284546/apple-siri-amazon-alexa-google-assisant-black-lives-matter-ai-response more ›

• A Notable Exception – Distilling Frenzy

  June 8, 2020

  This is Part 1 of a 9-part essay series on Apple’s Success in China. Part 1 introduces the essay series. Part 2 explains Apple’s product-zeitgeist fit in China. Part 3… more ›