As Valentine’s Day approached, I decided that I should perhaps commit myself to the insane asylum that is modern technological courtship. I knew it would be painful and time-consuming, but this year I decided to devote more effort to finding my own modern-day Brünhilde. (more…)
Tag: machines
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A university professor and an engineer built a hitchhiking robot over a decade ago named hitchBOT. The project was meant to be an interesting experiment relating to human interaction with technology, robots, artificial intelligence, and ultimately, trust. hitchBOT could not move, but he could speak, asking humans to give him a ride and make basic small talk. The robot roadway companion had a global positioning system, social media access, and a camera that he used to document his journeys. (more…)
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By her side, on the little reading-desk, was a survival from the ages of litter — one book. This was the book of the Machine. – E. M. Forster
Welcome, my son.
Welcome to the machine.
— Pink FloydWriters of fiction are obviously not bound to set their work in their own times. (more…)
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Having already published two extensive articles on The Prisoner (see here and here), I didn’t expect to ever write about the series again. But times have changed, and so has The Prisoner. Works of art are living things, and their meaning changes over time. This ultimately has little to do with the artist’s intentions. That The Prisoner had changed was brought home to me one evening when, on a whim, I chose to revisit an episode I had always disliked. (more…)
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Stefano Boni
Homo confort: Le prix à payer d’une vie sans efforts ni contraintes
Paris: Les Éditions L’échappée, 2022For several years I worked freelance for a company which specialized in controlling indemnity claims on behalf of automobile insurance companies. Like many others, the company published an annual in-house magazine which included cheesy personal interviews with managers and heads of departments. (more…)