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Wired Magazine / New York Times Magazine
Columnist for Wired magazine and contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine; author of Smarter than You Think: How Technology Is Changing Our Minds for the Better
PROFILE
Clive Thompson
Guest
FROM Clive Thompson
To the Point
Facial Recognition and Loss of Anonymity The features that make up your face are unique to you, just like your fingerprints. Think of it as your "faceprint." Facial recognition technology reads photos or videos to identify you — by name, location and any other personal information that turns up in a database. That has real value for a range of commercial uses — not to mention law enforcement. But the lack of ground rules is raising concerns about privacy and the right to control your personal data. On this special rebroadcast of To the Point, we look at facial recognition and the loss of privacy.
To the Point
Facial Recognition and Loss of Anonymity Facebook and Google aren’t the only companies using Face Recognition technology. It’s a tool of law enforcement, commercial enterprises—and even churches. The lack of ground rules is raising concerns about privacy… and the right to control your personal data.
To the Point
Fitness Tracking: The Benefits and Unintended Consequences Wearable devices to monitor bodily functions now constitute a multi-billion-dollar industry. Fitbit , Jawbone Up and other gadgets keep track of your blood pressure, sleep patterns, calories burned and how many steps you take in a day. The idea is to apply technology to human biology in order to develop healthier habits, but the value of self-awareness has limits. All that data can be overwhelming — and compromise privacy. On this rebroadcast of a conversation in March, will tracking and collecting so much personal information give new power to insurance companies and government agencies?
To the Point
Fitness Tracking: The Benefits and Unintended Consequences Wearable devices to monitor bodily functions now constitute a multi-billion-dollar industry. Fitbit , Jawbone Up and other gadgets keep track of your blood pressure, sleep patterns, calories burned and how many steps you take in a day. The idea is to apply technology to human biology in order to develop healthier habits, but the value of self-awareness has limits. All that data can be overwhelming — and compromise privacy. Will tracking and collecting so much personal information give new power to insurance companies and government agencies?
To the Point
Do You Want Your Smartphone Telling You What to Do? Silicon Valley is developing smart phone apps that will send you information they think you need before you ask for it. It's called "predictive technology." After searching your email and your calendar, it will advise you what to pack for a trip to the country — even though you never told it you planned to go. Early users call it "seductive" and "creepy," both at the same time. Critics warn against letting computers take over the task of thinking. Will "predictive technology" change the human mind for better, or worse? Will it make dealing with other people a lost art?
To the Point
Can Americans Expect Free and Fair Elections? The results will soon be in for New Hampshire, but election officials around the country are haunted by shades of the year 2000. Tomorrow, Arizona, Ohio and 24 other states will be watching the US Supreme Court for arguments about Indiana's voter ID law . Does it prevent fraud or disenfranchise poor and minority voters? Why do a third of all precincts nationwide use touch-screen computers, even though they're known to be unreliable? After Florida, 2000, Congress spent $3.9 billion on new voting technology. Are US elections better or worse?
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To the Point
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?
To the Point
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
To the Point
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
To the Point
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?