Rob Reid is a venture capitalist, New York Times-bestselling science fiction author, deep-science podcaster, and essayist. His areas of focus are pandemic resilience, climate change, energy security, food security, and generative AI. The opinions in this piece do not necessarily reflect the…
Some say it’s here already. Others say it’s partway there. Still others contend that it’s a long ways off. In any case, the underlying fact is indisputable: Web3 is the next iteration of the internet — the evolution from passive use in…
Voice verification is supposed to be a convenient and secure way to log into your bank account over the phone. While that may be true for a lot of people, those with a lot of recordings of their voice online now have…
When I was little, my uncle nicknamed me “Smarty Smarty.” I never knew exactly how to take that moniker. Was it meant with affection? As teasing? Was he impressed or making fun of me? “Smarty Smarty” probably had all of that rolled…
The Age of Plastic’ was an album by the 1980s British new wave group, The Buggles – a point to which we shall return! More pertinently, it is a term often used to describe the remarkable rise of this class of material since…
It might seem like the conversation about the metaverse right now is a combination of jokes about Mark Zuckerberg’s digital legs, snark about the cost of virtual reality headsets, and a real lack of clarity on why any corporation might want to…
Would you believe that the reason you lost out on a job opportunity or bank loan was because of a biased algorithm or artificial intelligence? Despite the great promise of AI and machine learning, the technology has the potential to be problematic,…
A lack of oxygen can reduce even the most furious flame to smoldering ash. But when fresh air rushes in, say after a firefighter opens a window or door to a room, the blaze may be suddenly and violently resurrected. This explosive…
Forward-thinking brands and retailers are looking to image recognition and machine learning to analyze enormous data sets (online catalogs) with vast assortments of visual features (fit/stitch/etc.) down to a single product. The results are powering a new level of personalization for better…
Unlike other areas of day to day life, health care has been late to adopt artificial intelligence as a tool for improved efficiency, satisfaction, and outcomes. Yet three Toronto hospitals are now using machine learning to predict and prevent overcrowding in their…
