It has become notoriously difficult to replicate experiments in the AI field. Generally speaking, getting neuronal networks to perform well can be like an art and tweaks to the network often go unreported in publications. Also, as networks grow in size and complexity, studying those models is expensive, if not impossible for all but the […]
Monthly Archives: September 2019
The Fantasy of Opting Out | The MIT Press Reader
In a world where the cost of opting out is getting constantly higher, the pressure of not to opt out is mounting. Almost every platform tells users that by opting out from cookies, link and click tracking, personal information, etc. they won’t be able to fully benefit from the platform (services). Some platforms even go […]
Facebook’s Latest Purchase Gets Inside Users’ Heads—Literally | WIRED
Facebook purchased CTRL-Labs (pronounced “Control” labs), a company that allows uses to control computer interafaces with brainpower. They use a mix of machine learning and neuroscience to accomplish that. While they are not the only company that tries to do that, CTRL-Labs is considered to have a quite pragmatic approach to brain computer interfaces. Users […]
OpenAI has released the largest version yet of its fake-news-spewing AI – MIT Technology Review
A half-size version of the now infamous language model of OpenAI has been released and the group examined the impact of their decisions so far in a recent paper. OpenAIs decision not to publish the whole model was heavily critized. Vanya Cohen, a recent master’s graduate from Brown University, went on to recreate an open-source […]
Teleportation Device – Anxious Machine (podcast) | Listen Notes
On the relationship between reading and technology: Humans have been reading for thousands of years, but ever since the invention of television, people have been worried that reading is in decline. The latest worry is that, even if the Internet has caused an uptick in the quantity of our reading, we’re reading on screens instead […]
iPhone 11, iPadOS and iOS 13 for PWAs and web development
A very good overview on Progressive Web App related changes on iOS 13. No push notifications, but there might be some movement in this area in the (near?) future. Just speculating: maybe Apple will add them without much fanfare in a minor update (say iOS 13.3) just like they added Progressive Web App support in […]
What is the WhatsApp Newsletter Alternative and how does it work?
With the end of WhatsApp newsletters in December, many businesses and organizations are forced to look for an alternative. With the mobile newsletter service offered by IKANGAI companies get a tool with which they can inform their users as usual. Messages are sent to all subscribers who have subscribed to the newsletter service. Signing up […]
Credit card privacy matters: Apple Card vs. Chase Amazon Prime Rewards Visa – The Washington Post
It started with a banana. Chilling article on how your personal data is collected, cross-referenced and used for all kind of purposes. However, recent data scandals were eye-opening to a broader public and people are starting to take notice how privacy affects our daily lives in often unforeseen ways. Therefore businesses should pay close attention, […]
Always In — Real Life
Interesting article on how wireless headphones became augmented reality devices. Those devices are changing our behaviour: notice for example how people keep their AirPods on when they are talking to others. In doing so, wearers signal that they are not fully present and relegate the immediate environment to the background. By not having to look […]
What is the difference between mobile newsletter services and mobile Apps?
With the forthcoming ban of WhatsApp newsletter services some businesses think of using their apps as replacement. It sounds like a no-brainer: just post the App-install link and users will flock to the mobile App instead. Right? Unfortunately not. The reason is that WhatsApp newsletter services are rather unique in the way how they address […]