missingbytes

Duplex. That’s the technology at Google I/O 2018 where an AI agent can use the existing telephone network to call a restaurant, book a table for 4 at 7pm, and adapt to common problems.
Things get more interesting when the restaurant runs a similar service. AI talking to AI....

If we assume as given we'll eventually live in a society with a UBI (all eligible citizens receive an Unconditional Basic Income, enough to cover their food, clothing and shelter), then the most pressing question is: How should we roll it out?
Years of making Video Games suggest two quick answers:...

Define: “effective political unit”
If politics is the name we give to a group of people making decisions that affect all the members of that group, then we can use “effective political unit” (EPU) as a catch-all name to reference that group.
Your household is an EPU. Your local sports team is an EPU. Your neighborhood and your city are both EPUs, as is your country, and each of your online communities....

My latest obsession is trying to build a 3D printer for as cheap as possible.
Partly it's because I believe 3D printing is a disruptive technology. The lower the cost for making a 3D printer, the more people will have access to the technology, and sooner the disruption will take place....