What is more iconic of San Francisco than the Golden Gate Bridge? In the city that attracts millions of tourists every year, the orange bridge is a symbol of the West, the optimism, the character of San Francisco, but also … Continue reading The Time When San Franciscans Opposed the Golden Gate Bridge
For German engineers, elevators did not represent the novelty they did in the USA at the end of the 19th century. In this country, the touted elevators were seen more as “children’s toys” than as an engineering challenge. After all, … Continue reading The Wedding Night in a Moving Space OR Why the Tsar Doesn’t Ride an Elevator
While COVID vaccination campaigns are underway in all countries and restrictions are slowly being lifted, we should also pause and recognize how little we take for granted that these vaccines exist. With Moderna, BionTech/Pfizer, Johnson&Johnson, AstraZeneca, Sputnik V and Sinovac, … Continue reading Timeline of Vaccine Developments
Almost three years ago, on May 25, 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force, and since then politicians and data protection experts in Europe have been patting each other on the back about how successful GDPR is … Continue reading The Chill Effect of the GDPR
I am saddened by a realization that may have something to do with my age, namely that I have gained the impression that cynicism is gaining the upper hand. This way of thinking, which reacts to the old and the … Continue reading Cynicism
Many visitors were skeptical. Instead of going inside, they stopped at the entrance and took a timid look into the shaft lit up with torches. Even the band playing inside could not entice them further. Only a few dared to … Continue reading The Opposite Of Expectations
Terminator! Frankenstein! Skynet! Ex Machina! Considering the interest and discussions about artificial intelligence (AI), one would like to think that humanity is on the verge of destruction. From enslavement to complete extinction, everything happens, but almost no consideration of the reasons why we develop AI at all and what we use it for.
Continue reading “How Frankenstein Is Always Exploited In Trying To Stir Up Technology Fears”
Richard David Precht would walk around the world completely naked if he were the perfect person. If one follows the arguments in his latest book “Artificial Intelligence and the Meaning of Life: An Essay“, then we don’t need technology in … Continue reading AI and The Simple World of Richard David Precht
Imagine the sight of the merchant and travel writer Jonas Hanway, who amused Londoners. After many years in Lisbon, Russia and Persia, he had brought back a novel piece of equipment after a stay in France. A ‘Parapluie’, which, in … Continue reading When It Rains Trash On The Umbrella
A few days ago, a friend posted one of these photos that I too am in the habit of taking: from a book table in a bookstore with her own freshly published non-fiction book between a series of other non-fiction … Continue reading Future Angst In One Image