Consumer Electronics & Product Reviews

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 →

I have two slides at the end of most of my presentations. One is my investible theses for the upcoming year and the other is stuff that has my attention. As we head into 2023, I thought it might be fun to look at a deck from 2018 and see if I got any of it right five years ago. I'll let you be the judge. Continue Reading →

Let's imagine the fan experience of the future. If there were no technological or financial restrictions, how would you want to attend a sporting event or a concert? What will "attending" evolve to mean? Continue Reading →

When someone says "the metaverse," what do they mean? At the moment, the observable metaverse is a continuum that spans experiences from virtual reality (VR) through mixed reality (MR) to augmented reality (AR). The experiences are different, but some of the most successful metaverse projects share many common creative and technological attributes. What are they? To help figure it out, we've been developing a framework we call the Standard Model of the Metaverse. Continue Reading →

Jason M. Allen's piece "Théâtre D'opéra Spatial" recently won first prize at the Colorado State Fair Fine Arts Competition in the category of "digital arts/digitally-manipulated photography." It was created using an AI image generator known as Midjourney and the human competitors are furious. Should they be? Continue Reading →