The University of Maryland’s Crossfire team recently tested a drone-based suppression system on controlled fires at a training facility as part of its entry in the XPRIZE Wildfire competition, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about the absurdity of our timeline. We've gone
Smart toys have become the unintentional court jesters of modern childhood, delivering responses that fall somewhere between helpful and hilariously wrong. These AI companions—from teddy bears to various interactive gadgets—operate like substitute teachers who learned everything from Wikipedia the night before, creating a new genre of domestic comedy
The first time I tried to fix my own laptop, I voided three different warranties in under five minutes. The manufacturer's sticker literally said "WARRANTY VOID IF REMOVED" in the kind of aggressive caps lock that makes you wonder if they're yelling at you
Courts worldwide grapple with a question that makes me wonder if judges secretly moonlight as philosophy professors: when an AI system learns from copyrighted images without storing them permanently, is that theft or efficient studying? It's the legal equivalent of asking whether you stole a book if you
Remember when the scariest thing about technology was accidentally liking your ex's Instagram post from 2017? Those were simpler times. Now we're living in an era where AI can generate a convincing video of you saying things you never said, and somewhere, a Silicon Valley startup
The first time I tried to explain color theory to my nephew, I told him that colors have feelings. "Blue is sad," I said, like some kind of amateur therapist for wavelengths. He looked at me with the kind of pity usually reserved for adults who still believe
You're standing in front of the Mona Lisa, except you're also in your pajamas eating cereal at 3 AM. The security guard can't yell at you for getting too close because you're inside your own living room. And the best part? Nobody
Imagine this: A senator walks into a classroom and sees a six-year-old chatting with an AI tutor about fractions. The senator clutches their pearls, drafts a bill, and declares that certain AI interactions should be kept away from children entirely. Meanwhile, down the hall, another six-year-old is having the time
You're stumbling out of a club at 2 AM, your ears ringing, your feet aching, and suddenly the floor beneath you whispers "McDonald's." Not literally—that would be concerning—but through optical illusion ads placed strategically near bars and clubs. The golden arches have
So here's where we are: a major plumbing company wants to put a camera in your toilet, and Americans are marching in the streets with "No Kings" signs. If you told me five years ago these would be defining moments of 2025, I would have assumed
Picture this: a boardroom full of investors, spreadsheets projected on every surface, and someone’s assistant frantically taking notes about “synergy.” Then a teenager walks in, opens their laptop covered in anime stickers, and says, “So our AI tracks calories from photos. Made $1.4 million last month.” Welcome to
Picture this: somewhere in Manhattan, a computer algorithm is having a conversation with another computer algorithm about whether you deserve to live indoors. They're not discussing your credit score or your employment history—those are so 2019. No, these digital overlords are comparing notes about what everyone else