speculations

https://techcrunch.com/2024/01/11/snapchat-lets-parents-restrict-their-teens-using-apps-my-ai-chatbot-view-their-privacy-settings/ It was my big brother who made the introduction. He’d been using the guy for years. All his mates had. No one knew his real name. They just called Neo. Some reference apparently. Neo was good. Very good. He not only got you access, he made sure your parents… Read the rest

https://www.engadget.com/walmart-makes-a-rare-ces-appearance-to-promote-ai-powered-shopping-005538465.html I grew up watching Friends. I remember when Rachel worked as a personal shopper, helping an attractive guy find the right look. I never thought I’d have a personal shopper but here I am buying stuff that I know is right for me. Rachel has said so and she… Read the rest

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/jan/09/is-the-consumer-electronics-show-still-relevant People still asked their bosses whether they could go. Journalists were still invited and showered with freebies, but there wasn’t the same buzz and almost child-like sense of wonder. The Death of Hardware had been welcomed by environmentalists and CFOs alike but those who remembered the packed halls, the… Read the rest

https://www.engadget.com/lenovo-yoga-pro-9i-and-yoga-9i-2-in-1-now-have-have-ai-chips-and-a-generative-art-suite-230059936.html Before he was born we were already thinking about it. We followed people who explained how to arrange the lighting in the nursery and the best sort of mobiles to hang over the cot. We listened to neuroscience podcasts about development and creativity. We subscribed to creative game services.… Read the rest

https://www.ft.com/content/38ab8068-9f09-4104-859d-111aa1dc47ad There was the official induction of course but, as you know, the most important thing in any job is knowing who’s in the know, who has the gossip, who has the political news, who’s really plugged into what is going on. Heh, all the more important now with the… Read the rest

https://www.engadget.com/more-non-fiction-authors-are-suing-openai-and-microsoft-103046599.html I didn’t want to sue. I just wanted to carry on doing my work. Researching, writing. But there is more than just the principle at stake. If my work is used, I lose my value. If the stuff I produce is not unique, new, I don’t get the work.… Read the rest

https://www.adweek.com/creativity/future-content-strategy-more-feelings/ I guess it was from an early age, at least my parents told me it was. I did it constantly. Anywhere, anytime on anything, I jotted down ideas that I returned to and reworked: moulding, honing. Book after book full of it. I can trace my life. Childish optimism,… Read the rest

https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/4/24025674/samsung-hyundai-kia-smartthings-cars He’d been driving for… Well a long time. He passed his test before they had to do all that theory nonsense. He remembered when seatbelts were optional. Clunk Click every trip. His son was well meaning but he didn’t need telling how, when or how to drive. It was… Read the rest

https://admin.thedrum.com/opinion/2024/01/03/agencies -still-aren-t-ready-ai-disruption-2024 It was the first day back. There was no security guard who’d been there all holidays to make small talk with. Not even a pass to swipe. He walked across the office, his footsteps reassuringly real. At least he wasn’t being assigned a desk he thought, as what… Read the rest

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1993011 It was all a bit new to her. She’d avoided politics. Her followers didn’t want it. She was the sunny, carefree moments in their lives. They didn’t want confrontation, anger… reality. They had enough of that. She was their refuge, their light-hearted friend. So when she got to the… Read the rest