Category Archives: Technology and innovation

Apple to California Legislators: Consumers Will Hurt Themselves if Provided a Right to Repair

Apple and tech lobbyists delay a California bill to provide a statewide right to repair until 2020, claiming consumers will hurt themselves if the state capitulates on this issue. They also successfully deploy the hackers in the basement boogeyman.

Plastic Watch: Debunking the Technofix Fairy, Biodegradable Bags Don’t Degrade

‘Biodegradable ‘ plastic bags were still intact and capable of carrying shopping three years after being exposed to the natural environment: some arguments and evidence not to rely on the technofix fairy to solve the plastics crisis.

Boeing Kept Mum to Customers, FAA About Disabling of 737 Max Warning System

Even more bad facts about the Boeing 737 Max are coming out.

How AI Systems Could Threaten Democracy

AI surveillance is more widespread than most people realize…with virtually no checks in place.

Boeing Might Represent the Greatest Indictment of 21st-Century Capitalism

Packed in the Boeing 737 fiasco are all the economic problems we face: crony capitalism, regulatory capture, offshoring and man vs. machine.

The Antitrust Case Against Facebook You Need to Know About

“Facebook is undermining our country, our democracy.”

We’ve Endured Years of Bragging From Trump—What Would an American Trade ‘Victory’ Look Like?

Will Trump declare a win if his trade representative fails to negotiate a viable long-term solution with Beijing?

Boeing’s 737 Max Debacle: The Result of a Dangerously Pro-Automation Design Philosophy?

A deep dive on the 737 Max fiasco.

Can Antitrust Law Rein in Facebook’s Data-Mining Profit Machine?

Facebook engaged in an elaborate bait and switch on user data: Privacy disappeared when competition did. Laws governing competition could change that.

Hubert Horan: Can Uber Ever Deliver? Part Nineteen: Uber’s IPO Prospectus Overstates Its 2018 Profit Improvement by $5 Billion

Uber’s financial data in its S-1 filing is misleading and even inconsistent.

Warren’s Antitrust Proposal: Should We Break Up Big Tech, or Just Regulate It Better?

While it is gratifying to see Senator and presidential contender Elizabeth Warren focusing on antitrust and the abuse of monopoly power, her $25 billlion fix looks too simplistic.

Climate Research Must Change to Help Communities Plan for the Future

Climate scientist Robert Koop argues for national investment in universities analogous to that of long-standing cooperative extension programs but applied to scientific climate risk management.

The Biggest Problem in the War on Cash

Banks and retailers are running into strong political opposition to restricting the use of cash.

Yasha Levine: Silicon Valley and “Communication Weapons of War”

Turns out Silicon Valey isn’t all that innovative on the propaganda front.