Tag: Technology
The great British Brexit robbery: how our democracy was hijacked
A shadowy operation involving big data, billionaire friends of Trump and the disparate forces of the Leave campaign heavily influenced the result of the EU referendum. Is our electoral process still fit for purpose? The connectivity that is the heart of globalisation can be exploited by states with hostile intent to further their aims. The […]
This is the most dangerous time for our planet | Stephen Hawking
We can’t go on ignoring inequality, because we have the means to destroy our world but not to escape it. As a theoretical physicist based in Cambridge, I have lived my life in an extraordinarily privileged bubble. Cambridge is an unusual town, centred around one of the world’s great universities. Within that town, the scientific […]
Neil Gaiman: Why our future depends on libraries, reading and daydreaming
A lecture explaining why using our imaginations, and providing for others to use theirs, is an obligation for all citizens. It’s important for people to tell you what side they are on and why, and whether they might be biased. A declaration of members interests, of a sort. So, I am going to be talking […]
GoldieBlox agreed to pay $1m to charity in Beastie Boys settlement
Argument over ‘fair use’ of Girls song ended in March with deal to donate to STEM education for girls. By Stuart Dredge. In March, the Beastie Boys reached a settlement with the US toy company GoldieBlox over the latters parody of their song Girls in a viral advert. Now the details of that settlement have […]
Tech has become another way for men to oppress women | Lizzie O’Shea
“We act as if technology were neutral but it’s not. The challenge now is to remove the gender bias,” says human rights lawyer and writer Lizzie O’Shea. “Most women in the Bay Area are soft and weak, cosseted and naive, despite their claims of worldliness, and generally full of shit,” wrote former Facebook product manager […]