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“Stop” is my frequent request
to quiet the voice that comes out of a globe
too often unwanted and unasked
and always unaware of my mood and needs.
It blabbers nonsense, it’s overly friendly,
Alexa, a pretender, a sales robot, eager to please.
But I am not buying.
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Not so long ago, I told my neighbor to stop texting me. I did the same with all my students and customers. I asked them to text me only in emergencies, like when the house is on fire, or if they wanted to reschedule your appointment because they don’t want to drive in ice and snow—which I understand.
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In September 2010, we walked into a pawn shop in Memphis, Tennessee, and placed a used desktop computer on layaway. Their asking price was $225, and we could pay it off $50 a week. One of these marvelous all-in-one desktops — it came with a wired mouse and a keyboard, and even a monitor.
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On the 24th of December, on Christmas Eve, a customer emailed me and asked when she could drop off her sofa. When I heard the notification sound on my phone, I picked it up because I was sure it was either family or a friend who just wanted to wish us a Merry Christmas.
A duet made in heaven? One could think so, considering Elvis died in 1977 and the Christmas Duets was released in 2008.
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My mother told me a lot about the past, of the Dark Days with technology and the internet. She talked about the Third World War, which hardly anyone had survived. “Before the war, people only let their machines and technology think for them instead of using their brains themselves,” my mother used to say.
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There are so many wonderful life-altering inventions, too many to list. Fire or the wheel? Internet or Telephon? Robots or Computers? Inventions have changed mankind throughout the centuries and made our lives better – or perhaps not.
Amitai Etzioni was one of the most influential U.S. intellectuals of the 20th century, his son Oren, 59, is a pioneer in the study of artificial intelligence. Both have given numerous interviews in their lives, but never one together.
I am proud of myself because I have managed to figure out how to upload a video from my phone to YouTube, which happened as a form of self-defense. It was the last attempt to somehow get this video off my phone.
A yearly tradition! It’s brilliantly made and the small extras like “Avoid Romans” and Joseph playing “Farmville” always make me smile. Happy Holidays to all of you! Lean back for…
