New York City public schools ban OpenAI’s ChatGPT

https://www.engadget.com/chatgpt-openai-new-york-city-public-schools-ban-192608080.html?guccounter=1 It was only a matter of time. We all knew that. They’re not completely stupid they just needed the tools. With their reputations (and brands) as guardian of academic standards to protect and therefore so much money on the line, they threw money at developers and got their own… Read the rest

Sony and Manchester City are building a metaverse, but they need to prove why we should visit

https://www.theverge.com/23541557/sony-manchester-city-metaverse-playstation Desolate. That’s the best word for it. It reminds me of the first lockdown, eerily quiet, post apocalyptic meets zombie. Anyone you saw seemed dazed, semi-detached. It’s like that. There aren’t smoking ruins but there might as well be. You can see what it all used to be like.… Read the rest

Ring Car Cam extends Amazon’s security footprint further beyond the home

https://www.geekwire.com/2023/rings-new-car-cam-extends-amazons-security-footprint-further-beyond-the-home/ I got the idea from Speed, you know the SandyB movie? It wasn’t a difficult hack. There are instructions if you know where to look. They’d been much more relaxed about lending me the car. Fewer lectures about the lighting on the road near the church. Fewer comments about… Read the rest

H&M goes virtual with immersive Roblox experience

https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/h-m-goes-virtual-immersive-roblox-experience/1809181 We’ve grown up here. These are our spaces. We run them. Sure, we’re different groups and we don’t all agree. We fight but we sort stuff out. We always have. We built these streets. When we didn’t like the way something looked, we took our spray cans and changed… Read the rest

Neutrogena now offers personalized vitamin supplements

https://digiday.com/marketing/neutrogena-now-offers-personalized-vitamin-supplements/ They’d made sure to pump smells through the air conditioning, fresh bread, chips, coffee. They’d kept the retro plastic trays and generic cups. They’re even kept staff on… school dinner lady-lookalikes. And to be honest there was still the hustle and bustle of people finishing quickly to get back… Read the rest

Apple patent application describes Apple Pencil that can sample real-world colors and textures

https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/3/23536840/apple-pencil-patent-texture-color-sample-ipad-art His predecessors used to sample too. They would take photos, videos or just make careful notes. Building a picture of the physical space, the soundscape, the atmosphere. They’d capture conversations. Watch and listen, record. Their samples, their records of the digital; their renderings of the physical; their empathy maps… Read the rest

Meta acquires smart lensmaker Luxexcel as it works toward AR glasses goal

https://www.theverge.com/2022/12/30/23532567/meta-acquires-lensmaker-luxexcel-ar-glasses Reality was layered. He knew that. It was his job, dealing with it. Thick and thin data overlayed. Feeds of information blending with the world he looked at, studied, reported on. It had become so much easier now he didn’t have to juggle tabs or windows. His interface was… Read the rest

It’s Time to Break Bad Pandemic Learning Habits

https://www.wired.com/story/its-time-to-break-bad-pandemic-learning-habits/ There’s something not right. It’s partly that of course the work is harder now. No second window open to do some extra… “research” before responding. No third window open for a live conversation with a mate. No hit record and worry about understanding it later. But there is something… Read the rest

Go read this story about a mood decoder developed by neuroscientists that can measure depression

https://www.theverge.com/2022/12/26/23522880/mood-decoder-brain-stimulation-depression-device The drugs help. They screw with the signals apparently, or that’s what the dealers say. They don’t change your mood. They hide it. That’s the whole point. They’re supposed to somehow fool the sensors. Like the anti-face-rec masks from a few years ago. It might be snake oil frankly.… Read the rest