[Miscellany] Some reflections from my use of technology

When technology works well, we don't think about it. We take it for granted. But some recent “technology failures” have led me to reflect on its role in my life, and how it impacts on how I see other human beings and the world. So much more than a watch My Apple Watch stopped working. … Continue reading [Miscellany] Some reflections from my use of technology

Some thoughts on where and what to blog

Today is the 10th anniversary of my blog. Or the 10th blogday, as my former colleague, Debbie Witney, called it in a comment made in the post published this time last year. In this 10th year, I published 55 posts, bringing the total to 554 posts. That’s over 35,000 words in the last year alone, … Continue reading Some thoughts on where and what to blog

Musical diary 2019

I got this idea from Austin Kleon. In a blog post at the end of last year, he wrote: “At the beginning of every year, I make a new playlist on whatever streaming service I’m using. (Used to be my beloved Rdio, now it’s Spotify.) Every time I hear a song I dig, I add … Continue reading Musical diary 2019

[Miscellany] Not smart; not oil; not AI

The connected home is not smart I only noticed this now; but, it seems that, when Google merged the Home and Nest divisions, it rebranded the connected home from ‘smart’ to ‘helpful’. The announcement said: Today, we’re committing to that goal by bringing the Home products under the Nest brand. Our first step as Google … Continue reading [Miscellany] Not smart; not oil; not AI

[Miscellany] Social media photos as speech; designing chatbot conversations; shout out to ‪@BoE_Research

The changing nature of photographs in the age of social media When I was growing up, photos were something that we staged carefully; that we took in small numbers; and that we had to wait a long term to see. They marked specific moments. Nowadays, we take lots of photos that we can see … Continue reading [Miscellany] Social media photos as speech; designing chatbot conversations; shout out to ‪@BoE_Research

[Miscellany] Gender bias‬‬‬; lack of imagination in algorithms’ design; wanted Professor of Foresight

Possible gender discrimination in Apple Card Did you read about that story, that went viral on Twitter, about Apple credit cards offering a much higher credit limit to men than women, even when the latter have demonstrably the same or even better financial situations? [If not, read this or this] The person who posted … Continue reading [Miscellany] Gender bias‬‬‬; lack of imagination in algorithms’ design; wanted Professor of Foresight

Day in the Life of an Academic #9: All sorts of meetings

It’s time to offer you a peak into yet another facet of an academic’s life, with another “Day in the Life” post. This time, a post looking at Wednesday, October 30th: a day that was full of meetings. I woke up at 5ish, and got ready to go to work: I have a meeting in … Continue reading Day in the Life of an Academic #9: All sorts of meetings

What it feels like when the computer knows more than you

I have been thinking and talking about artificial intelligence a lot, this past week. For instance, on Wednesday, I went to the Parliament with two other colleagues from Brunel, to talk about the impact of AI on workers, work and the workplace; and, on Thursday, with those same colleagues, we hosted a workshop to examine … Continue reading What it feels like when the computer knows more than you

[Miscellany] On the importance of questions, and different types of answer, plus what I am reading

The best predictor of good grades? Several people in my Twitter timeline have been talking about this journal paper (paid access, only). The authors of the paper analysed the extent to which various variables could be used to predict student’s grades, and concluded that: “These relationships make class attendance a better predictor of college grades than … Continue reading [Miscellany] On the importance of questions, and different types of answer, plus what I am reading

[Miscellany] ebay podcast, welcoming complaints, and new life stage

ebay: more about b2c than c2c If I say ‘ebay’, what image comes to your mind? A place to offload items that you no longer need, or even that unwanted Christmas gift? Or, perhaps, the opportunity to buy nearly new items that other people outgrew, or fell out of love with? If, like me, … Continue reading [Miscellany] ebay podcast, welcoming complaints, and new life stage