Journal

Thanks to advances in AI, smartphones are revolutionizing care for the visually impaired, providing everything from diagnoses to “sight.”

Thanks to advances in AI, smartphones are revolutionizing care for the visually impaired, providing everything from diagnoses to “sight.”

“Seven hundred years after glasses were invented there are still 2.5 billion people in the world with poor vision and no access to vision correction,” says Hong Kong philanthropist James Chen. Chairman of his family’s Nigeria-based manufacturing company, Wahum Group, Chen is funding a contest called the Clearly Vision Prize that will award a total of $250,000 to projects that improve eyesight, especially in poor countries. Thirty-six semifinalists were announced this week (the five winners will be awarded September 15). Among the contenders: 3D printed eyeglass frames, drones that deliver medical supplies, and several smartphone-based technologies. Some of the smartphones help nonexperts test vision, and one uses artificial intelligence to “see” for blind people.

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Smarter technology could make farms more efficient and food tastier, though environmentalists argue none of it is guilt-free.

Smarter technology could make farms more efficient and food tastier, though environmentalists argue none of it is guilt-free.

During the 20th century, advances in fertilizers, irrigation, and mechanized farming technology helped make it possible to feed a dramatically growing world population.

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First of all, be sincere and don’t make excuses. Those are just some of the failings of recent “apologies” from Trump and Lochte.

First of all, be sincere and don’t make excuses. Those are just some of the failings of recent “apologies” from Trump and Lochte.

“Never ruin an apology with an excuse.” – Ben Franklin

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Get started, get organized, get rid of jerks, and much, much more.

Get started, get organized, get rid of jerks, and much, much more.

From its not so humble beginnings as a non-prank released on April Fool’s Day in 2004 to its billion-plus users today, Google’s illustrious email offering has proven indispensable for most of us.

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As artists and record labels clamor over YouTube payouts, some iare skeptical that Google’s subscription service can change the equation.

As artists and record labels clamor over YouTube payouts, some iare skeptical that Google’s subscription service can change the equation.

Since the freewheeling, Napster days of digital music, artists and labels have been forced to accept some very hard realities about their industry. From peer-to-peer piracy to the life-preserver Apple tossed out to record companies in the form of iTunes, to the rise and dominance of streaming services, upheaval has been a mainstay of music’s relationship with computers. But the Silicon Valley side of the equation has had to swallow a difficult truth as well, and one that’s inimical to a tech industry built on advertising: In music—as with other kinds of creative and professional pursuits online—paying subscribers are a far more sustainable source of revenue than free users who look at ads (which, in any case, they are increasingly trying to block).

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