- 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
Why did Jared Kushner want a back channel with Russians? News broke Friday that President Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor, Jared Kushner, tried setting up a back channel between the Trump transition team and the Russian government. What are the consequences for Kushner, President Trump, and the investigation into Russian meddling?
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Accusations of lying fly between James Comey and White House During his testimony Thursday, former FBI Director James Comey accused President Trump and other White House officials of lying when they said the FBI was in disarray and its staff had lost confidence in him. President Trump’s lawyer said Comey was wrong -- that the president never asked for his loyalty, and never asked him to back off the investigation into former NSA director Michael Flynn.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Trump says goodbye Paris Accord: What does it mean for U.S. and the planet? President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the U.S. will withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord, the landmark international agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Trump was to renegotiate a new deal, but will that happen?
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Why is Trump so behind on filling staff jobs, establishing concrete policies? Yesterday Donald Trump signed a “decision memo” to revamp the air traffic control system. But there was little legislative detail in the plan. There’s not much to other splashy announcements from the White House, including tax cuts and the arms deal with Saudi Arabia. And hundreds of positions are unfilled in federal agencies.