You decide – is facial recognition technology essential for public safety?
Facial recognition software has been controversial since it’s conception, but news that it will be implemented into London's security cameras has sparked widespread concern over its potential for abuse. If you live in London, the CCTV capital of the world, you are captured by security cameras at least 300 times...
Current in Technology
EU pushing Apple to change its phone ports to USB-C
Despite slowly removing accessories and ports from its devices straight out of the box, Apple could soon be forced to change all its iPhone ports to USB-C to reduce their overall environmental impact. Anyone who’s purchased an iPhone in the last few years (which is, statistically, probably most of...
Phykos creates AI seaweed planting vessels to naturally store carbon
With the aim of creating more natural carbon banks, Phykos has pioneered an autonomous device capable of growing seaweed in shallow water and dragging it out to the open ocean. As you’ve probably heard by now, seaweed is good for a whole lot more than livening up your weekly stir...
Apple is collecting iPhone data to help detect underlying mental health issues
Apple believes health data gathered from our iPhones, such as sleep patterns and typing behaviour, may help to identify underlying mental health conditions or cognitive decline. We’ve all experienced that dystopian moment when a targeted phone ad pops up for an item you were just talking about. But this is...
El Salvador citizens up in arms as Bitcoin becomes legal tender
All businesses with the capacity to accept crypto payments must legally do so in El Salvador. But why exactly are citizens up in arms over the changes imposed by President Nayib Bukele? Once a novel business endeavour among young US traders, crypto currency is continuously spreading – much like a...
Is voice AI on the verge of a marketing explosion?
AI speech synthesisers may feel like a novel gimmick now, but as the technology becomes more sophisticated, could we see a full-scale integration into the marketing world? Apparently, AI audio synthesisers are about to get a whole load more sophisticated than Eminem’s rap generator. Like that’s even possible. Despite the many...
Genaq to convert air humidity into drinking water for millions
Spanish humanitarian firm Genaq is bringing clean drinking water to refugees and natural disaster survivors by extracting atmospheric humidity from the air. Spanning 45 countries, its ingenious generators currently provide up 1.5 million litres a day. With constant media emphasis on last month’s alarming IPCC reports and the general obsession of how humanity continues to screw the planet, it makes a nice change of pace to honour a company...
Could a new Bitcoin tax stifle blockchain’s greener future?
As lawmakers debate bringing in new tax requirements for cryptocurrency, greener forms of blockchain tech look set to suffer the most significant blow. As cryptocurrency becomes progressively more mainstream, it’s no surprise that lawmakers are lobbying for new tax systems. The White House hopes to bring in new framework to offset the rush of crypto spending with a $28 billion levy over the next 10 years. An initial bill was drafted...
Magnetic device shrinks tumour without radiation or chemotherapy
Researchers have developed a device reportedly capable of shrinking deadly brain tumours without radiation or chemotherapy. Could this be the neurological breakthrough of the decade? When it comes to developing and testing new healthcare technology, there is no organ more complex and challenging than the human brain. There’s a reason brain surgery is often mentioned alongside rocket science. The brain remains one of the biggest medical mysteries of the 21st century...
Health AI ‘iAge’ predicts when our immune systems will fail
Health AI is now reportedly capable of predicting the year each of our immune systems will inevitably falter, and whether or not people are likely to develop cardiovascular problems later in life. Remember those old school apocalyptic websites that used to show live countdowns to our random death dates, usually between two grinning skull gifs? Well, what if we had something like that for real? Far less sinister in nature, investigators...
