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Total number of posts: 23874
Google to donate 100,000 smart speakers to people with paralysis
While smart speakers have made a lot of people’s homes more comfortable, for people with disabilities these state-of-the-art gadgets can be life-changing. The hands-free, intuitive nature of this technology allows people to control light switches, thermostats, locks and more with just their Read More...
There's a lot of buzz surrounding Internet of Things technology
Using Internet of Things (IoT) technology can help us better understand the health of bee hives in order to cater to the needs of bees more effectively. These days, IoT technology can allow us to monitor beehives with remote sensors as a way of keeping beekeepers updated on the status of the bees. Read More...
To prevent algorithmic bias, NYC has created a position to oversee ethics in AI
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has taken a major step forward in ensuring that the city’s AI systems are fair and bias-free after creating a position dedicated entirely to overseeing the ethics of AI and other algorithms. AI systems are based on data, but the problem is bad data can contain Read More...
The tech from self-driving cars could help prevent wildfires in the future
Last year, California had its most destructive and deadliest wildfire year on record. Increasingly dry, warm, and windy weather conditions wrought by climate change are a big reason why. But the immediate cause is often power lines: Downed lines that come into contact with nearby trees can create Read More...
Google is predicting wind patterns a day in advance so grids can rely on it more
Wind power has become increasingly popular, but its success is limited by the fact that wind comes and goes as it pleases, making it hard for power grids to count on the renewable energy and less likely to fully embrace it. While we can't control the wind, Google has an idea for the next best Read More...
Tall wooden buildings are popping up around the world. Here’s why that’s good
The tallest wooden building the world has ever seen just completed construction in Norway, standing at a total height of 85.4 meters. Surely some of you are wondering whether or not that’s a fire hazard, but while it would have been worrisome to build towering structures out of wood in the Read More...
Hedonistic sustainability: this clean energy plant doubles as a ski slope
How do you make a waste-to-energy plant a more appealing proposition to the public? How about putting an artificial ski slope on top of it? In Copenhagen, Denmark, city officials recently opened the “cleanest waste-to-energy power plant in the world”, capable of converting 440,000 tons of Read More...
Does prison architecture have to be cruel? This prison shows us it doesn’t
How should a prison be designed? Should it purposefully be designed to punish inmates using uninviting materials such as steel and concrete, or should it be a place that invites criminals to rehabilitate themselves? While most prisons around the world are designed in a way that aligns with the Read More...
Mexico’s 3D-printed neighborhood for impoverished families is coming to life
On May 13th of this year, the top story of the Optimist Daily was about a nonprofit called New Story that had plans to build the world’s first 3D-printed neighborhood for poor people in Latin America. Well, we’re excited to tell you that the first homes of this neighborhood have been Read More...
This startup is building post-disaster housing using a giant assembly line
After two of the worst fires in California’s history tore through the state in the last three years, a housing startup by the name of FactoryOS knew it had to do something. The homes of thousands were incinerated by the flames of the fire, and the people who used to live in those homes were still Read More...