“A company says it has listed the first 3D printed house in the United States for sale,” reports CNN. “This is the future, there is no doubt about it,” says Kirk Andersen, the director of operations at SQ4D Inc. SQ4D uses automated building methods, or 3D printing, to build structures and homes… The company can set up its Autonomous Robotic Construction…
Tag: homelessness
‘Companies Are Fleeing California. Blame Bad Government.’
Bloomberg Editorial Board: Amid raging wildfires, rolling blackouts and a worsening coronavirus outbreak, it has not been a great year for California. Unfortunately, the state is also reeling from a manmade disaster: an exodus of thriving companies to other states. In just the past few months, Hewlett Packard Enterprise said it was leaving for Houston. Oracle said it would decamp for…
What Happens When Researchers Give Thousands of Dollars to Homeless People?
CNN reports on “The New Leaf Project,” an initiative in which the University of British Columbia partnered with a Vancouver-based charity called Foundations for Social Change: Researchers gave 50 recently homeless people a lump sum of 7,500 Canadian dollars (nearly $5,700). They followed the cash recipients’ life over 12-18 months and compared their outcomes to that of a control group who…
Should We Plan For a Future With Fewer Cars?
The New York Times ran a detailed piece (with some neat interactive graphics) arguing “cities need to plan for a future of fewer cars, a future in which owning an automobile, even an electric one, is neither the only way nor the best way to get around town…” It asks us to imagine a world where there’s suddenly more room for…
Does the Internet Need a New Architecture that Puts Users First?
Two VoIP pioneers argue in a Wired opinion piece that “Treating the internet like a public utility only bolsters the platform giants,” adding “A more secure model starts with control by the people.”
As we rely on the internet more and more for work, social connections, and basic needs, it is time to talk about the future of meaningful online experiences, and…
Facebook Will Donate 720,000 Masks and 1.5 Million Gloves to Healthcare Workers
The San Francisco Chronicle reports: Facebook plans to donate 720,000 masks — a combination of the coveted N95 respirators and more basic surgical masks — and 1.5 million pairs of gloves to health care workers around the world. Facebook officials said they bought the masks for their offices’ emergency disaster kits following wildfires in California. Facebook has already donated 375,000 masks…
An AI Surveillance Company is Watching Utah
An anonymous reader quotes Motherboard:
The state of Utah has given an artificial intelligence company real-time access to state traffic cameras, CCTV and “public safety” cameras, 911 emergency systems, location data for state-owned vehicles, and other sensitive data. The company, called Banjo, says that it’s combining this data with information collected from social media, satellites, and other apps, and claims its algorithms…
Seattle Has Figured Out How To End the War On Drugs
Nicholas Kristof writes in an opinion piece for The New York Times about Seattle’s “bold approach to narcotics that should be a model for America.” Instead of being prosecuted for being caught with small amounts of drugs, that person is steered toward social services to get help. “In effect, Seattle is decriminalizing the use of hard drugs,” writes Kristof. “It is…
An RV Camp Sprang Up Outside Google’s HQ. Now Mountain View Wants To Ban It
schwit1 shares an excerpt from a report via Bloomberg: In a quiet neighborhood near Google’s headquarters last month, rusty, oleaginous sewage was seeping from a parked RV onto the otherwise pristine street. Sergeant Wahed Magee, of the Mountain View Police Department, was furious. Mountain View is a wealthy town that’s home to Alphabet, the world’s fourth-most valuable public corporation and Google’s…
‘Boiling Point’ – San Francisco’s Wealthy Fighting to Keep the Homeless Away
Tyler Durden – Something has to give. Source: https://www.wakingtimes.com/2019/04/25/boiling-point-san-franciscos-wealthy-fighting-to-keep-the-homeless-away/…