Tech Headlines

Staying current with computers and technology is a little like reading science fiction.

Some of the topics seem like the wild ideas of Arthur Clarke, Robert Heinlein or Phillip K. Dick. Interestingly, some of the very best sci-fi writers were actually products of the early- to mid-1900s, making one wonder if the minds who inquire into the unknown are now actually working in science and tech rather than writing speculative fiction about it.

A recent roundup of titles in major science and technology articles will give you an idea of what is of current interest and concern in matters of computers and tech. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but is gathered from what pops up on a simple search on the topic.

MIT:

• 15 Climate Tech Companies to Watch
• Top Breakthrough Technologies: AI, Solar Cells, Apple Vision, Weight Loss Drugs, Geothermal Systems, Chiplets (tiny chips)
• Gene Editing Treatment
• Exascale Computers (that’s a 100,000,000,000,000,000 followed by 18 zeros per second calculations)
• Heat Pumps
• Twitter Killers (platforms that might take down X?)
• Thermal Batteries

Reuters:

• AI and Google
• EU Chip Industry
• Children’s Online Safety
• Cybersecurity

WIRED:

• Hurricane Milton: It’s not the category that counts
• Crackdown on GLP-1 Meds (compounding pharmacies who recreate medicines patented by Big Pharma)
• License Plate Readers
• Tech War on China
• AI Gets a Robot Body

Caltech:

• Building New Molecules (computers plus chemistry)
• Neural Networks Can Learn Continuously

NYT Technology:

• Foldable Phones (again?)
• Tesla’s RoboTaxi (self-driving)
•  Nobel Prize to AI Pioneers

BBC Technology:

• Smartphones Banned From Schools
• AI Saves Teachers Grading Time
• AI Tool Tailors Diabetes Treatment
• What We’ve Learned From Biggest Oil Spill
• BBC Weather App Glitch

This Week in Tech: (podcast hosted by Leo Laporte)

• California AI Bill
• FTC vs. Fake Reviews
• Orion (AR Glasses)
• DoNotPay (has to pay for untested AI Lawyer!)
• 23AndMe Data Insecurity

NPR Technology:

• Why Does it Feel Weird to Ride in a Driverless Car
• Sanctions Against Google in Antitrust Case
• TikTok Sued in Multiple States Over Harm to Kids

Just about all of them: Elon Musk (did something).

What can we glean from these topics – and just to be clear, some of the “titles” or topics are not identical to a given article or topic as gathered from the platform. Some are certainly more scholarly than others, but all of them are considering what impact technology, computers and the online space are having on life, health, communication, and day to day activities.

One bit of irony: the mention of Elon Musk is more or less a “thing” on most technology platforms. Whether it’s a lawsuit he’s engaged in, his space shots, his Tesla, or his X platform and the cause of free speech, Musk is making news in computing and technology. He is clearly a force to be reckoned with in the emerging tech world.

AI is, without a doubt, the Next Big Thing in technology: how do we engage with computers, what can they do, what should they do, is it “safe” to give them autonomous functionality – and can you bring them back “in” from the wild once released?

How does a nation/culture/civilization interact with tech? Can, and should, developments be regulated?

What about physical well-being? The manufacture of drugs, molecules, chips for the brain and literally turning one’s health over to robo-medicine are all fields of study and concern for biological creatures, human and otherwise.

Cybersecurity: to protect and defend, or to find ways around barriers? Is there such a thing as being truly “secure” online anymore? How would you know if you are or you aren’t, anyway?

And one final thought: if you did read the old-time sci-fi writers from the 1950’s through about the turn of the millennium, you would find some surprisingly similar topics – robots, AI, the definition of “life,” space exploration, the eco-system and its protection. One can only wonder what today’s prolific sci-fi and fantasy writers are predicting that will one day be the headlines of technology.

Nancy Roberts