No One Is Immune to Deepfake Imagery
A cautionary tale relating to artificial intelligence surely startled many at SXSW this week. Dr. Joy Buolamwini is founder of the Algorithmic Justice League. Fortune magazine named her the “conscience…
Everything Everywhere All At Once
A theme I discerned at several SXSW sessions this year was storytelling. The best of the lot was appreciated by a very large audience with a standing ovation. It was…
Sandy Clark: The World is Going to Completely Change
How might a robot have implications for your brand? Suppose a robot delivers a pizza to your home, serves it to you with a soda, and then washes up the…
Non-Obvious Thinking
One aspect of the Featured Sessions at SXSW this year has been the description of trends. For each of the sessions I have attended in the first three days, rooms…
T. S. Eliot and the Nucleus of Modernism
Ask a group of poetry experts what the most consequential poem of the 20th century was. The majority vote will most likely be The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot. Written…
An Overnight Trip to Mineral Wells, TX
Lou Reed sang in his song “A Small Town” that he wanted nothing to do with the one he grew up in and had to ‘get outta there’ as fast…
Trail of Lights
The big annual event of the Holiday Season in Austin, the Trail of Lights, proved to be delightful again. I went on a rather warm December evening to enjoy the…
The Wildflower Annual Luminations Show
The Wildflower Center is a non-profit organization loosely affiliated with UT but not funded by the university. This lovely arboretum in south Austin is a perfect getaway all year round.…
The Path Ahead for Sen. Joe Manchin
On Nov. 9, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin announced he will not seek another term for the Senate. It now seems likely he will announce a third-party candidacy for the presidency.…
The Little Star Ranch
City slickers like myself tend to romanticize the “country,” so when I have a staycation, as I’m doing now at The Little Star Ranch in Somerville, I am somewhat surprised…