- Social:
freelance writer; author "TALK TO ME: Inside Silicon Valley's Quest for Conversation"
Author of “TALK TO ME: Inside Silicon Valley's Quest for Conversation;” Writer for New York Times Magazine, Wired, Popular Science, GQ.
PROFILE
James Vlahos
Guest
FROM James Vlahos
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Dadbot: Keeping dad alive through artificial intelligence We talk to robots like Siri and Alexa. But why can’t we use artificial intelligence to talk to real people, especially those who died? That’s what James Vlahos wondered as he watched his dad die of lung cancer last year. He tinkered with some readily available A.I. technology and came up with something he called a Dadbot. His dad would live forever through artificial intelligence.
To the Point
Pill-Popping Pets More and more people are telling their pets, "Get happy or face euthanasia." Now there's Reconcile , a canine version of Prozac that tastes like beef. Drugs for animal neurosis might sound like a joke, but maybe dogs and cats really do have treatable mental illness. This week's New York Times Magazine featured an article headlined " Pill-Popping Pets ," which begins with Max, a three-year old German Shepherd who's being diagnosed and treated for compulsive disorder. The author is James Vlahos.
Recommended
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
The ‘Hollywood Godfather’ you’ve never heard of You’ve probably never heard of Billy Wilkerson, but he had a huge influence on Hollywood. He started the blacklist during the Red Scare, and there might not have been a Clark Gable without him.
Hollywood Breakdown
Streaming wars John Stankey, the head of WarnerMedia, announced a new streaming service coming next year with content from its massive film and TV library. It will join Disney and Apple in companies with forthcoming streaming services that could spell trouble from Netflix.
Art Talk
Striking Stage Design Worthy of a Museum Show Edward Goldman talks about art exhibitions and set designs from Pasadena to Palm Springs.
Design and Architecture
Rethinking mobility with “Flipping the Bird!” design jam Love ‘em or hate ‘em, dockless e-scooters have disrupted the cities they land in. Can "game thinking" help us think more creatively, and less reactively, about their potential? That’s the question at the heart of an event this Saturday at noon called "Flipping the Bird!" It’s a collaboration between KCRW, DnA and IndieCade, the international festival of independent games.