Cyborgs are usually depicted as human-machine hybrids in popular fiction. They’ll either be robots with human brains or people who’ve had some of their limbs replaced with machine parts. That’s pretty cool. But, let’s be honest: those are your grandparent’s cyborgs. Ours are better. In the modern world, the idea of putting a computer chip in your brain isn’t far-fetched at all. And robotic limbs are quickly becoming a reality. But neither of these cybernetic solutions are intended to augment hea
In case you’ve been living in a house made of cotton wool that exists under a rock, you’ll have heard about the debacle between Joe Rogan, Neil Young, and Spotify. And, in these troubling times, I’d like to share a message of solidarity and hope. Here it is: everyone sucks. Some people more than others, certainly, but it’s still all of them. The people all suck. Anyone involved? Sucks. By proxy, that means I also suck, but I’m not willing to submit my mind to this level of scrutiny just yet. Bef
India finally gave cryptocurrency and digital assets some recognition, although its proposal for a 30% tax on income from all virtual assets will upset many. This levy includes cryptocurrency exchanges, as well as NFT (Non-Fungible Token) trades. This move comes after a lot of uncertainty around the legality of cryptocurrency trades and exchanges created by rumors of a blanket ban last year. However, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government will present a new draft of the cry
For years, self-driving car technology has remained tantalizingly just beyond the horizon. Bold predictions notwithstanding, fully automated vehicles still haven’t appeared in showrooms. But the technology appears poised for a leap forward in 2022. Companies including Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Honda are bringing so-called Level 3 AVs to market that will let drivers take their hands off the wheel under specific conditions, and virtually every major auto manufacturer is testing self-driving systems.
Space travel is all about momentum. Rockets turn their fuel into momentum that carries people, satellites and science itself forward into space. 2021 was a year full of records for space programs around the world, and that momentum is carrying forward into 2022. Last year, the commercial space race truly took off. Richard Branson and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos both rode on suborbital launches – and brought friends, including actor William Shatner. SpaceX sent eight astronauts and 1 ton of supplie
Japan has a strong heritage in not only pop art (like anime and manga), but also mobility, with inventive staples like Onikyan car wheels and Dekotora Trucks. And what happens when you bring those two together? Itasha. This is a car styling trend that emerged in the 1980s, but has been given a fresh lease of life with new car breeds and emerging tech. Itasha means literally painful or cringeworthy in Japanese, and refers specifically to vehicles that have been decorated with anime, manga, or vid
When immersive experiences first became accessible to everyday consumers in the form of headsets like the Oculus Rift and Google Glass, it seemed like the industry was ripe for mainstream acceptance. A few years later, the hype around VR and AR seemed to have died down, and it seemed we’d have to wait some time before the hype built up again. Then Facebook (the company) changed its name to Meta and signaled its investment in the metaverse. Suddenly everyone cared about VR and AR again. Yet I sti
There are few more compelling story lines at the intersection of Wall Street and Fear Street than China‘s rise to global prominence in the field of artificial intelligence. You don’t have to look very far to find a military or financial expert who believes China‘s AI program will some day surpass the capabilities of its democratic counterparts in Silicon Valley. But, as we’ve written before, the idea that China is in second place behind the US is a bit misleading. Sure, it’s technically correct,
If you’ve been on any social media platform in the past two weeks, you’ve probably seen a grid of green, yellow and black squares. This is the latest pandemic phenomenon called Wordle – a free online game that gives users a new word puzzle each day. It was created by Josh Wardle for his crossword-loving partner. As of January 10, the game has 2.7 million players. In Wordle, players have six tries to guess a target five-letter word. Every time they make a guess, they are told which letters in the
Last week, the US Department of Transportation Secretary announced the National Roadway Safety Strategy launch. The strategy aims to respond to a national crisis: deaths and serious injuries involving cars and heavy trucks. It’s a collaborative effort between a range of government departments, such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, to centralize many tasks and responsibilities under a central plan. It gets its funding from the