Women are not allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia. That leaves women reliant on male relatives or paid services to get to stores, school, and (increasingly) work. So when Uber launched in Riyadh in early 2014, its impact went beyond the general convenience of tech-enhanced ride hailing. The company has made a real difference in Saudi women’s mobility.
Continue reading… “Uber has made a real difference for women in Saudi Arabia”
What is the overriding theme that all of the following data-breach headlines have in common from the past year? The Sony Pictures hack: Everything we know so far; Anonymous hackers release emails ordering bear cubs be killed; Hackers threaten to release names from adultery website; How Latest Snowden Leak Is Headache for White House; How DID hackers steal celebrities’ private iCloud photos? Connecting the dots yet? If not, here are a two more headlines to tip you off: Hackers Remotely Kill a Jeep on the Highway – With Me in It and Hacktivists taking aim at Dallas-Fort Worth police departments.
Continue reading… “Hacking for a cause is today’s growing trend in cyber security”
Futurist Thomas Frey: A robot does not kill someone out of fear, anger, or desperation. They kill because someone told them to do it. At least that the way it works with our current generation of robots. What comes next may be a different story.
Normally, when we think about war, it has to do with countries using their armies to fight other countries, or in the case of a civil war, countries torn apart by internal rival factions.
But that line of thinking is far too narrow for the conflicts in our future as our choice of weaponry and choice of battlefront continues to expand.
From my perspective, the traditional country vs. country war tends to be far more about political theater, a theater that plays out on the world stage in full view of the public, than the subversive battles being fought over countless levels of minutia in the background.
Continue reading… “Teaching Robots to Fight Wars”
One recent afternoon, Christine Ryan didn’t head to the doctor’s office or emergency room when her ear was aching; she went to her local CVS store in Cambridge.
Continue reading… “Walk-in clinics forcing traditional health care providers to rethink”
Uber along with Mothers Against Drunk Driving released a study earlier this year taking credit for a decline in drunken driving-related car crashes among drivers under 30. It was called out for not producing enough evidence to make the connection.
Continue reading… “Uber is being credited with the decline in California drunk driving deaths”
Trend Micro researchers Kyle Wilhoit and Stephen Hilt decided to take a closer look at gas station monitoring systems after one was hacked earlier this hear. They set up fake internet-connected systems called “GasPots” — honeypots that mimic the real ones — in several countries to track hackers’ movements.
Continue reading… “U.S. gas stations under attack by hackers”
You may hear quite often that “the only reason solar is so cheap is because China is dumping cells. ”Let me correct it. Here is the price, as of February 2015, of solar modules, per watt sold in Europe. SE Asia (Malaysia, mostly) is cheapest. China is next. Japan, Korea, and Germany are slightly above that.
Continue reading… “Innovation is the reason China’s solar is cheap”
Eyeglasses that help users protect their privacy by disabling facial-recognition systems in cameras have been developed and are set to go on sale in Japan, according to the National Institute of Informatics.
Pollution levels decrease and the health of people improves when cities plant trees. Studies show that America’s trees save thousands of lives a year, mainly by preventing breathing-related problems (they also make you feel like you have more money, if you’re into that sort of thing).
The economy in China is shrinking, and it’s happening faster than anyone expected, not even the country’s government.
Continue reading… “Data visualization shows China’s economy is shrinking”
According scientists at Newcastle University’s Institute for Ageing in the U.K. and Keio University School of Medicine, they say they have cracked the secret of why some people live a healthy and physically independent life over the age of 100: keeping inflammation down and telomeres long.
Continue reading… “Leading scientists reveal secrets for reaching the age 100”
Fintech’s investment has tripled to $12.21 billion in the past year, according to Accenture’s 2015 report. Recent Jobs Act legislation is fueling this trend, with deregulation of crowdfunding leading the surge of investments from retail and institutional participants.
Continue reading… “Fintech’s future is hotter than ever”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
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