Consumer Electronics & Product Reviews

Streamflation, a portmanteau of "streaming" and "inflation," is an apt name for the streaming industry's relentless pursuit of the highest price you'd ever be willing to pay for a streaming service. In practice, content prices never come down - so you could argue that there's nothing to see here. But there is. Continue Reading →

Meta AI has introduced AudioCraft, a text-to-music AI model that does an impressive job of composing, arranging, orchestrating, and playing in a wide range of musical styles. Not only can it create or mimic a melody, but it also engineers and produces fully finished work, some of which is already suitable for commercial use – and this is only V1. Imagine where the state-of-the-art will be a year from now. Continue Reading →

In a stunning display of AI prowess, Meta AI has introduced AudioCraft, a single-stop code base that does an impressive job of composing, arranging, orchestrating, producing and playing music. AudioCraft is not just an AI that can mimic a melody. It's a sophisticated system that can create music, sound effects, and even handle audio compression. Continue Reading →

At CES 2017, wearing complexity as a badge of honor, Mark Fields (Ford Motor Company CEO) told a room full of tech analysts and reporters that the onboard computers in a Ford GT 25 were running 10 million lines of code – more than Lockheed used in an F-35 fighter jet. He proudly announced that all Ford motor vehicles were going to be, "computers on wheels." Continue Reading →

You've probably read about the "existential threat" posed by Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). It's a dark future where super-intelligent machines outsmart us and cause humanity to go extinct. We may be mesmerized by this high-stakes narrative, but we’re also being misled. The real threats of AI are already here, lurking in our everyday digital experiences. While tech titans and the media tout a dystopian AI future, they’re drawing our attention away from the AI and related data privacy issues we need to solve right now. Continue Reading →

Shelly Palmer talks about the "Alignment Problem" - one of the scariest and most dangerous issues posed by AI. When you set a goal for an autonomous agent (such as AutoGPT, AgentGPT or BabyAGI) will the output be aligned with your goal and human values? The answer today is, "no so much." What will this look like as more and more people start to rely on generative AI, LLMs, and Autonomous Agents? Continue Reading →

The next generation of the World Wide Web (web3) is being built on blockchains using tools and technologies similar to the ones that empower cryptocurrency, NFTs, smart contracts, and the world of DeFi. While there is no agreed-upon technical definition for web3, my favorite philosophical definition is: "A decentralized platform that empowers both users and creators to share in the value they create." It's a nice idea, but how would it actually work? Continue Reading →

Unlike existing, but newly popular, artificial intelligence (AI) systems which are designed to perform specific tasks such as image recognition, speech recognition, and natural language processing, artificial general intelligence (AGI) systems will be super-AI systems that will be able to learn anything and perform intellectual tasks at a level of expertise comparable to or exceeding that of human beings. Continue Reading →

I haven't written much about all the new video monitors that were on display at CES^® 2023. This is mostly because they were all so incredibly good (thinner, brighter, bigger, cheaper) and more amazing than ever. That said, advances in manufacturing over the past few years have closed both the price and feature gap between the most popular technologies. So, for your viewing pleasure, here's a quick primer on current video monitor jargon along with some guidance to help you pick the best set for your needs. Continue Reading →

It was great to be back in Las Vegas for CES^® 2023. The most obvious trend this year was the focus on partnerships. Companies big and small, from every sector, were touting the benefits of working together. There were dozens of companies showing off amazing technology. In most cases, tech was "new and improved," as opposed to "brand new." But there were a few standout products and services, and I've chosen five of my favorites to share with you. Continue Reading →