Episode 192 – PVP-Y

  On a Games at Work busy day — the co-hosts start with follow up to the last two episodes dealing with smart speakers about the new HomePod being released.  While not said on the show, Michael M is looking forward to experiencing the dulcet tones of the Games At Work podcast on his HomePod in just a short few days! Robotics & automation loom large for this episode with many stories converging on the concept of whether automation will be a net job destroyer or creator.  The MIT Technology Review article gives a comprehensive snapshot of a variety of … Continue reading

Episode 178 – L33T Learning Siri

  Just say no to enabling autonomous bots & drones with the ability to apply lethal force.  Following on last week’s episode 177, Michael & Michael start off with a continuation of the discussion on the Pandora’s Box of armed robots. Moving on to a happier topic, while still staying on the machine learning concept, the pair talks about how Siri and other voice interactive systems have been improved with deep learning.  Not just recorded scripts, but actual intelligence, and more natural interaction is apparent when you listen to how far things have come since the earliest days of Siri … Continue reading

Episode 162 – Seeing is Believing

Michael and Michael are excited that it is that special time of year again, the one where you can buy Thin Mints, and Caramel deLites, and all manner of Girl Scout cookies.  And they are even more excited about the kickstarter game being developed by the Girl Scouts where the cookies take center stage, and the scouts learn all about the various development platforms: MIT’s Scratch, iOS & Android to create the game.  Nice touch, by the way, that the Kickstarter video uses virtual audio reality with positional sound. Turning from the savory to the visual, Michael and Michael discuss … Continue reading

Episode 157 – Through the 2016 Looking Glass

In their final episode of 2016, Michael and Michael explore themes where sci-fi blends with reality. In the TechCrunch IoT Redux article, Michael and Michael kick off the discussion with the state of affairs on all the data emitted from the things on the internet, and quickly go into the realm of the British Channel 4 television show Black Mirror (available on Netflix). It is simultaneously possible to have so much of your life available to you at your fingertips, and what could go wrong with such technical capability — the Kingsman movie being another example from the entertainment world. … Continue reading