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Improving Our Moral Reasoning in the Digital Age

Andrew Orr ·

I’ve previously written about calls to Silicon Valley to embrace ethics, and how companies should have a Chief Ethics Officer. But you can’t really have ethics without morals, and this article explains how we can improve our moral reasoning.

Addressing the issues brought upon by artificial intelligence, biological advances, and the information age, I’d like to create a generalized method of moral reasoning for any human being in our current age to address issues like gene editing while remaining faithful to the work of philosophers and historians.

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Where Next for Apple and the Music Industry

Charlotte Henry ·

Apple has a long history of working with the music industry. Steve Jobs changed how songs were sold when he got the music industry to go along with US$0.99 songs on iTunes. Apple changed the game again when it decided to try and compete directly with Spotify and launched Apple Music. An interesting piece of analysis in the Financial Times looks at where Apple and the music industry might go next.

Music executives say that after a late entrance to music streaming in 2015, the tech group has been gaining confidence and ratcheting up its efforts to grow Apple Music. The number of subscribers has grown to 56m, up from 50m in May, and Apple recently overtook Spotify to become the top music streaming service in the US, the world’s biggest music market by revenues. “Apple stumbled out of the gate with an inferior product three years ago. Apple Music did not become this spectacular product like iTunes was,” said a senior executive at one of the “big three” record labels.

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UK Smartphone Vendors Criticised for Black Friday Smartphone Deals Failure

Charlotte Henry ·

LONDON – Online smartphone retailers in the UK are being criticized for wrongly refusing customers Black Friday deals. UK cellular service provider Vodafone experienced problems with its credit check systems. As a result, some customers wanting the cut-price deals were mistakenly declined. According to the BBC, “5% of consumers experienced the issue.”  Mobiles.co.uk, owned by Carphone Warehouse, was particularly affected as it attracted many customers on the back of significant deals for the iPhone XR. From the BBC’s report:

Carphone Warehouse-owned website Mobiles.co.uk and other online phone retailers are facing a backlash from customers wrongly refused Black Friday smartphone deals. A problem with Vodafone’s credit check systems meant that some applications submitted via the contract resellers were incorrectly turned down.

 

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Former World Chess Champion Gary Kasparov is Upbeat About AI

John Martellaro ·

Gary Kasparov, former world chess champion (1985-2000), is upbeat about the future of AI in this article at ZDNet. He says:

AI is a tool, it’s a technology it’s not a harbinger of utopia or dystopia, it’s not a magic wand it’s not the terminator, it’s a tool. And at the end of the day how you use a tool will determine our future.”

This is a thoughtful, well-written article. Mr. Kasparov does much to bring a steady frame of mind to the technical issues and natural human fears.

Kasparov prefers the term ‘augmented intelligence’ because he sees that as a more precise way to describe human-machine collaboration, and also that ‘artificial’ sounds a bit too scary. He says he is an optimist by nature and sees the fear of AI as a psychological obstacle we need to overcome.

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Using iPad, Apple Original TV Shows, and Macs with Jim Dalrymple: ACM 490

Bryan Chaffin · · 1 Comment

Bryan Chaffin and guest-host Jim Dalrymple talk about how they use their iPads, and it turns out they’re pretty different use cases. They try to talk about where Apple TV might go but venture into a much deeper conversation about Apple’s original TV shows and videos. Spoiler: one of them is a pessimist. They close the show by examining the state of the Mac. Another spoiler: one of them is a pessimist!

TMO Deals

2-in-1 Smart Plug with Alexa, Google, and IFTTT Support: $19.99

Bryan Chaffin ·

We have a deal on a 2-in-1 Smart Plug with Alexa, Google, and IFTTT support. Firstly, it has two outlets, but plugs into just one. Secondly, those outlets are smart outlets that can be controlled via Alexa, Google Home, or IFTTT, and are controllable from the SmartLife app, too. Our deal is for one of these devices for $19.99. But the deal listing also has a 2-pack for $37.99.