Digital Transformation

What made move 37 so interesting is that no one expected it. It was early in game two of the million-dollar Google DeepMind Challenge Match, and AlphaGo, an artificial intelligence (AI) system developed by Google, placed its 19th stone on a part of the game board that no human Go master would have considered. Some called it a "mistake." Others called it "creative" and "unique." But considering that AlphaGo went on to win its third game in a row against one of the strongest Go players in the world, the move should probably have been called what it really was: "intuitive." Continue Reading →

Apple v. FBI has started a serious debate about the line between security and privacy. The FBI says this is a case about the contents of one specific iPhone 5c. Apple says this is a case about securing data for everyone. Since current vintage iPhones (5s, 6, 6s) can not be hacked the same way, we should not be talking about a particular phone; we should be talking about encryption writ large, and how it is used in our daily lives. Continue Reading →

Apple v. FBI is headed for the Supreme Court. The problem is, I don't want the Supreme Court (or any court) empowered to make policy – that's a job for the Legislative branch. Regardless of what you think of Congress, they’d better get this one right. What it means to be a digital citizen and identifying the border between security and privacy are two of the most important issues of our time. Continue Reading →

Hello Barbie! is an IoT-enabled Barbie Doll with blonde hair, blue eyes and a built-in surveillance system. She's not the first of her kind (and she won't be the last), but here's what you should know about bringing it, or any connected device, into your home. Continue Reading →

Bots generate more than half the traffic on the public Internet. This is indisputable. In fact, the Association of National Advertisers believes that advertisers will lose $6.3 billion globally to bots in 2015. This will not stop until someone (the marketers, the government, the justice department) makes it stop because everyone – the ad networks, the traffic sellers, the bot creators, the publishers, the ad agencies, the trading desks, the DMPs, the SSPs, everyone – except the marketers – is making money. Continue Reading →

Apple's iOS 9 (the new iPhone operating system) contains a very special feature that enables third-party app developers to develop Ad Blocking tools. These tools, which have been around for PC-based web browsers for years, are probably better described as "content blocking" because they allow you to block all kinds of noncommercial stuff (also because there is a heated debate as to whether or not ads are "content"). Pundits and students of the commercial advertising business have identified this technological achievement as the beginning of the end of days. Others cite history and say the industry will get past the problem. After all, content blocking is not new; it's just newly relevant. Right? Continue Reading →

Last week the S&P Media Index lost 8.3 percent (approximately $53.7 Billion of value) in just three days. During that time, shares of Viacom lost 20 percent, 21CF (Fox) and Discovery Networks lost 11 percent, Disney took a 9 percent hit and even CBS dropped 6 percent. It was a tough week. Is this the beginning of Mediamageddon? Continue Reading →

Technological advancements always empower people to behave differently – what makes today different is that the rate of technological advancement is accelerating beyond our capacity, perhaps even our ability, to react – and this... is new. Continue Reading →

Data is more powerful in the presence of other data. That is a hard, fast, immutable law. But what do you do when you run out of first party data (the data you collect yourself)? Or, what if you simply don’t have enough meaningful data to build the model you need for your particular program? Continue Reading →

What better way to celebrate the next batch of competitors for the Scripps National Spelling Bee than with mobile applications and games designed to prepare Elementary to Middle School students for spelling quizzes and tests? These apps (most vetted by educational experts) can help students spell, expand their vocabularies and use words in the correct context. Continue Reading →