If a robot takes your job, you’re not the only one who loses income. Since robot workers don’t pay taxes, the government loses money, too. That fact by itself may not stimulate too much sympathy until you realize that the government’s lost income might have repaired a pothole on your street or replaced worn-out playground …

Continue reading Robo-debt: Matt Simon on the taxing of robot labor

What do fax machines have in common with electric cars? More than you may think. History professor Jonathan Coopersmith, who studied the development of fax technology, argues in this March 2017 essay in The Conversation that in order for electric cars to eventually succeed, competing electric car makers need to follow the example of fax …

Continue reading Compatibility helps everyone: Jonathan Coopersmith on standards for technology

Do you reach for your phone while you’re engaged in a face-to-face conversation? Don’t feel bad; most of us do. But our phone-grabbing habits may interfere with our ability to engage in genuine, personal communication. In this October 2015 Guardian interview, London-based journalist Tim Adams converses with author and psychology professor Sherry Turkle about—what else?—conversation. …

Continue reading Pro-conversation: Tim Adams talks with Sherry Turkle

Does boredom enrich your life? No, really, we’re serious. Think about it. Philosophy professor Andreas Elpidorou has thought about it a great deal, and he concludes that boredom is necessary and valuable. Read his ideas in this July 2015 essay in Aeon. Read it here: Elpidorou, "The quiet alarm"   In regard to boredom, Elpidorou states …

Continue reading The quiet alarm: Andreas Elpidorou on the virtues of boredom

Until 2007 (in June, to be exact), every human who’d ever lived did so without the benefit of a smartphone. How did they manage?!? Novelist and freelance journalist Michael Grothaus accepted his editor’s challenge to live without his smartphone for one week and write about the experience. Read about his experience in this July 2016 …

Continue reading Taking the challenge: Michael Grothaus on his smartphone-free week

How often do you check your phone? Do you feel addicted to it? According to former Google product philosopher Tristan Harris, we check our phones 150 times per day, on average, and yes, we’re addicted. He explains why and proposes a solution in this July 2016 essay in Spiegel Online. Read it here: Harris, "Smartphone addiction: …

Continue reading Your personal slot machine: Tristan Harris on smartphone addiction

True crime programs—whether they’re podcasts, Netflix miniseries, or regular television shows—are wildly popular these days. In addition, such programs have inspired the development of interactive fan resources on social media. New Republic editor and writer Laura Marsh explores the phenomenon in this Spring 2016 article in Dissent. Read it here: Marsh, “Murder, they wrote”  Although Marsh is …

Continue reading Murder, they wrote: Laura Marsh on true crime dramas and amateur sleuthing

If you haul a backpack full of textbooks all day, you might appreciate an e-book version of some of the heavier ones. Technology writer Clive Thompson appreciates reading on a small screen, but for different reasons. He posted this essay on his blog, Collision Detection, in February 2014. Read it here: Thompson, "“Why 18th century books …

Continue reading Size matters: Clive Thompson on the benefits of small screen reading

If you were to write “you have one messages” in an essay, you would probably lose points for your error. But the machines we deal with every day use such phrases, and we pay no attention. Not all of us, however, let these statements go unnoticed. Linguist Geoffrey Pullum criticizes what he calls “artificial stupidity” …

Continue reading “Artificial stupidity”: Geoffrey Pullum on user-interface software