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In the winter of 2013, a mass of warm water began to spread throughout the eastern Pacific Ocean. The Blob wreaked havoc on marine lifesea lion pups starved, seabirds died, and salmon fisheries suffered.

Helping to unravel this mess is the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR), an antique device that uses rolls of silk and 18th-century clockmakers technology to sample plankton near the surface of the ocean. Invented in England in 1922, the CPR devices design was refined throughout the 1920s, and has been left more or less unchanged since 1929. Since then, the CPR Surveya project currently based out of Plymouth, Englandhas been using these devices to take snapshots of the tiny organisms that make up the oceans plankton.

Such long-term records make it possible to track the effects of ocean events like the Blob, says Sonia Batten, who is using data from these devices to understand how plankton in the North Pacific were affected by the marine heatwave. If no one knows what the plankton looked like before a heatwave, its impossible to track changes. And to have an accurate comparison across time, the data needs to have been collected using the same method all along. Your understanding is only as good as the baseline you have, says Batten.

Each CPR deviceof which there have been hundreds over the yearsis a meter-long, stainless-steel, torpedo-shaped container that houses long strips of silk and can be towed behind any ship. As the crew deploys the device into the ocean, a propeller begins to spin in the churning water, driving a mechanism that unravels the rolls of silk. Water streams through a tiny hole at the front of the torpedo, and the silk traps the plankton. A second roll of silk then completes a plankton sandwich that preserves the sample for analysis.

Each 457-centimeter roll of silk takes 926 kilometers to unspool, capturing a sample of the surface plankton. The original CPR Survey, which began in 1931, followed dozens of shipping routes in the Atlantic. The result is a library of hundreds of thousands of samples, maintained by the CPR Survey in Plymouth. In some cases these records reach as far back as 1946, when samples were first stored for later analysis. Since the CPR Survey began, other projects using the technology have sprung up, covering parts of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, the Mediterranean, and parts of the Southern Ocean around Antarctica and Australia.

Understanding plankton is essential to studying how ocean life is sustained, says Carin Ashjian, a plankton ecologist who is not affiliated with any CPR projects. For instance, she says, big, fat, juicy zooplankton tend to thrive in cool water. So what happens when an ocean heatwave comes along?

Based on the CPR data, Batten can say that the average size of plankton in the northeast Pacific decreased during the Blob years. But, she adds, theres still a puzzle to solve because shrinking plankton doesnt seem to explain the dramatic effects observed in the northeast Pacific ecosystem, since there was still plenty of plankton left in the water, just different species.

The Blobs effects on mammals and fish might be a result of poor-quality food rather than a shortage, she explains: If you ate nothing but celery all day, you might not feel very full. The smaller, warmer-water plankton may not pack quite the same nutritional punch as the big, fat cold-water plankton, leaving animals nutritionally stressed even in water full of plankton. More research will clarify whether her hunch is correct.

Despite the importance of having a solid baseline, long-term monitoring is easy to neglect because its value may only become apparent with hindsight, says Batten. Everyone thinks its important, but its hard to get it supported until something happens and people want the data. But its value comes from keeping a finger on the pulse when there is no disaster, because no one knows when that data will suddenly be needed. I have no idea what next year will bring, she says. No one predicted the Blob.

The oldest CPR device still in operation in the CPR Surveys fleet was built in 1938. Video via Alaska SeaLife Center

The history of the long-running CPR Survey is tumultuous. After the survey peaked in 1970 when 5,506 samples were collected, its scope began to contract in the 1980s as UK government funding for long-term oceanographic monitoring projects was slashed because administrators considered environmental monitoring projects poor science, wrote a group of CPR researchers in 2005. Ultimately, the survey was temporarily shut down in 1989.

A rescue operation quickly sprang up, and a new charitable foundationthe Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science, named after the CPRs inventorwas founded to operate the survey. In 1990, the CPR Survey was moved to its current home in Plymouth. But recent years have brought another shock for the charitable foundation. The CPR Survey was forced to suspend some shipping routes and reduce its staff by a third, and in 2018 was assimilated by the Marine Biological Association in Plymouth.

The CPR Surveys capacity to resurrect might be due in part to its comparatively low running costs. Sending out research ships, or even just putting a researcher on a ship, is pricey, says Batten. But a mechanical device that can be thrown off the back of a ship, with no complicated electronics, is much less expensive. Its not pretty when you get it backall dented and scratchedbut it does work, and works well, she says.

The CPR Survey has a proud scientific record, with its data feeding hundreds of papers on climate change, biodiversity, and sustainability. But there are limitations to the data these antique devices can provide. The CPR device can only gather data from the surface of the ocean, leaving the depths untapped. And the methods reliance on volunteer ships subjects it to the contingencies of commercial routes. But its long-term record, says Ashjian, is really valuable, and the antique technology still complements modern techniques like rapid photography and acoustic sampling, which study the ocean without capturing any physical plankton. If you want to know what species something is, or maybe even what life stage it is, you still have to get the bug, she says.

Although researchers are now attaching more advanced equipment to CPR devices, like temperature sensors, the original design is set to carry on running indefinitely. Weve yet to invent something electronic that can do the same thing, says Batten. Its hard to improve on.

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The Antique Technology Still Taking the Ocean's Pulse - Hakai Magazine

(This article appeared previously in Kaiser Health News.)

At first, Dr. Robert Zorowitz thought his 83-year-old mother was confused. She couldnt remember passwords to accounts on her computer. She would call and say programs had stopped working.

But over time, Zorowitz realized his mother a highly intelligent woman who was comfortable with technology was showing early signs of dementia.

Increasingly, families will encounter similar concerns as older adults become reliant on computers, cellphones and tablets. With cognitive impairment, these devices become difficult to use and, in some cases, problematic.

Computer skills may deteriorate even before [older adults] misplace keys, forget names or display other more classic signs of early dementia, Zorowitz wrote recently on a group email list for geriatricians. Hes the senior medical director for Optum., a health services company, in New York City.Deciding whether to block their access to their bank accounts, stocks and other online resources may present the same ethical dilemmas as taking away their car keys.

The emergence of this issue tracks the growing popularity of devices that let older adults communicate with friends and family via email, join interest groups on Facebook, visit virtually via Skype or FaceTime, and bank, shop, take courses or read publications online.

According to the Pew Research Center, 73% of adults 65 and older used the Internet in 2019, up from 43% in 2010. And 42% of older adults owned smartphones in 2017, the latest year for which data is available, up from 18% in 2013.

Instead of saying I have issues with my memory, people will say, I just cant figure out my smartphone...

Already, some physicians are adapting to this new digital reality. At Johns Hopkins Medicine, Dr. Halima Amjad, an assistant professor of medicine, now asks older patients if they use a computer or smartphone and are having trouble, such as forgetting passwords or getting locked out of accounts.

If theres a notable change in how someone is using technology, she said, we would proceed with a more in-depth cognitive evaluation.

At Rush Universitys Alzheimers Disease Center in Chicago, neurologist Dr. Neelum Aggarwal finds that older adults are bringing up problems with technology as a non-threatening way to talk about trouble with thinking.

Instead of saying, I have issues with my memory, people will say, I just cant figure out my smartphone or I was trying to start that computer program and it took forever to get that done.

If the person previously used digital devices without difficulty, Aggarwal will try to identify the underlying problem. Does the older adult have problems with vision or coordination? Is she having trouble understanding language? Is memory becoming compromised? Is it hard for her to follow the steps needed to complete a transaction?

If using technology has become frustrating, Aggarwal recommends deleting apps on cellphones and programs on computers.

The anxiety associated with Oh, my God, I have to use this and I dont know how totally sets people back and undoes any gains that technology might offer, she said. Its similar to what I do with medications: Ill help someone get rid of whats not needed and keep only whats really essential.

Typically, she said, she recommends no more than five to 10 cellphone apps for patients in these circumstances.

When safety becomes an issue say, for an older adult with dementia whos being approached by scammers on email family members should first try counseling the person against giving out their Social Security or credit card information, said Cynthia Clyburn, a social worker in the neurology division at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia.

If that doesnt work, try to spend time together at the computer so you can monitor whats going on. Make it a group activity, Clyburn said. If possible, create shared passwords so you have shared access.

But beware of appropriating someones passwords and using them to check email or online bank or brokerage accounts. Without consent, its a federal crime to use an individuals password to access their accounts, said Catherine Seal, an elder-law attorney at Kirtland & Seal in Colorado Springs, Colo. Ideally, consent should be granted in writing.

With his mothers permission, one of Zorowitzs brothers a physician in Baltimore installed GoToMyPC, an application that allowed him to remotely manage her computer. He used it to reset passwords and manage items on her desktop and sometimes to order groceries online from Peapod.

Eventually, Selma Zorowitz lost interest in her computer as she slipped further into dementia and spent the end of her life in a nursing home. She died in 2014 at age 87.

Older adults with Alzheimers disease commonly turn away from digital devices as they forget how to use them, said Dr. Lon Schneider, a professor of psychiatry and neurology at the University of Southern California.

More difficult, often, are situations faced by people with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), which affects a persons judgment, self-awareness and ability to assess risk.

Sally Balch Hurmes 75-year-old husband, Arthur, has FTD, diagnosed in 2015. Every day, this elder-law attorney and author struggles to keep him safe in a digital world full of threats.

Hundreds of emails pour onto Arthurs cellphone from telemarketers with hard-to-resist offers. His Facebook account is peopled with friends from foreign countries, all strangers. He has no idea who they are. Some of them are wearing bandoliers of ammunition, holding their guns, Hurme said. It is horrific.

Then, theres Amazon, a never-ending source of shopping temptation. Recently, Arthur ordered four pocket translators, several watches and a large quantity of maple sugar candies for $1,000. Though returns are possible, Hurme doesnt always know where Arthur has stored items hes bought.

What steps has she taken to manage the situation? With Arthurs permission, she unsubscribes him from accounts that send him emails and removes friends from his Facebook account. On his cellphone, she has installed a parental control app that blocks him from using it between midnight and 6 a.m. hours when he was most likely to engage in online activities. Theres also a parental control setting on the TV to prevent access to adult channels.

Instead of an open-ended credit card, Hurme gives Arthur a stored value card with a limited amount of money. She manages household finances, and he doesnt have access to the couples online banking account. Credit bureaus have been told not to open any account in Arthurs name.

If Hurme had her way, she said, shed get rid of Arthurs cellphone his primary form of communication. (He has stopped using the computer.) But Im very sensitive to respecting his dignity and letting him be as independent and autonomous as possible, she said. For all the dangers it presents, his phone is his connection with the outside world, and I cant take that away from him.

Judith Graham is a contributing writer to Kaiser Health News and Next Avenue.

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Caregiving Online Technology and Dementia: How to Keep Your Loved Ones Safe More families face dilemmas - Next Avenue

Twitter shares slumped on Thursday after the social network reported lower than anticipated revenues and higher costs and said it expected advertising technology bugs to continue to drag on profits.

Shares fell by almost 20% in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange to a low of $31.10, the weakest since March.

Twitter said the numbers reflected several headwinds including problems with its advertising technology and a dearth of big events such as the mens football World Cup in the summer, although it fared well in the US, its main market.

Twitter reported revenues of $824m (639m) for the three months to the end of September, up by 9% year on year but lower than the $871m expected by analysts. Twitters record quarterly revenue was $908m, in the final quarter of 2018.

The revenue shortfall was caused in part by bugs in Twitters advertising system on mobile apps. Twitter reported this month that it had been using personal data to target adverts without the correct user permissions. It turned off the features when it found the bugs, denting its ability to sell targeted ads.

The chief executive, Jack Dorsey, said the problems would continue to weight on revenues. For the final three months of the year, Twitter now expects total revenues of between $940m and $1.01bn, below Wall Street expectations of $1.05bn.

Dorsey admitted the firm had made some missteps during the quarter, but said upgraded technology meant bugs were still painful but no longer existential as it was in the past.

Profits were also weighed down by rising costs. Net income for the quarter was $37m, comparedwith an adjusted net income of $106m in the same period in 2018, excluding a one-off tax advantage. Earnings per share, a closely watched measure of profitability for shareholders, fell to $0.17, below the $0.20 expected by analysts. Costs rose by nearly a fifth year on year to $780m.

Dorsey highlighted continued growth in the number of monetisable daily active users (DAU) those to whom it can serve adverts. It had 145 million daily users on average through the quarter, up 17% comparedwith the same period last year and an increase from 139 million in the previous quarter.

Twitter has been trying to tackle online abuse on its platform. New features include allowing tweeters to hide replies already introduced in the US and forthcoming in the UK and better algorithms to find abusive comments automatically, without victims having to report them manually.

Dorsey said he was more confident that the company could help to tackle industry-wide challenges such as fake news and sometimes venomous debate. The company and other social networks such as Facebook have faced a barrage of criticism, including from US Democratic presidential candidates, over tolerance of false statements by political figures around the world.

Excerpt from:

Twitter shares slump as revenues dip and costs rise - The Guardian

This story is part of our November/December 2019 issueSee the rest of the issueSubscribe

June 1967

From The first battle of World War III: World War I was fought with chemistry, and World War II with physics . World War III, if it ever occurs, may be fought bloodlessly with mathematics. It is not wholly inconceivable that two opposing general staffs will gather some day in full battle dress for a mornings war at an international computer center. At preliminary low-level conferences they will have already agreed on a computer program and, like attorneys at a pre-trial hearing, stipulated essential input data. All that will remain to be done on the fateful morning will be to push the start button and wait for the computer to wage the war 10,000 times. We can envision one commander- in-chief pushing aside a sheaf of print-outs that he has been poring over. Okay, he says. You wiped us out 9,327 times. Ill tell my Prime Minister to pull out of the Balkans.

April 1984

From The Fallacy of Laser Defense: During a televised address to the nation on March 23, 1983, President Reagan surprised many viewers by proposing a long-term plan to shield the United States against nuclear attack Despite the Reagan administrations rhetoric about making nuclear weapons obsolete through defense, the Pentagon is already studying how to penetrate a future Soviet BMD (ballistic-missile defense) system. Under a program operated by the Defense Nuclear Agency at a yearly cost of $3.5 million, pieces of U.S. ICBMs have been exposed to lasers modeled after those used in Soviet research, so engineers can develop countermeasures. DARPA is also working on laser-resistant materials ... In sum, as military analyst Thomas Karas has written, As long as both sides are determined to maintain it, assured destruction is bound to be mutual.

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December 2001

From Recognizing the Enemy: Of all the dramatic images to emerge in the hours and days following the September 11 attacks, one of the most haunting was a frame from a surveillance-camera video capturing the face of suspected hijacker Mohamed Atta as he passed through an airport metal detector in Portland, ME. Even more chilling to many security experts is the fact that, had the right technology been in place, an image like that might have helped avert the attacks. According to experts, face recognition technology thats already commercially available could have instantly checked the image against photos of suspected terrorists on file with the FBI and other authorities. If a match had been made, the system could have sounded the alarm before the suspect boarded his flight.

Excerpt from:

Looking back at the future of warfare - MIT Technology Review

If, as Star Trek famously put it, space is the final frontier of human endeavor, then insecure environments are the final frontiers of development. The data estimates are clearby 2030, 50 percent of the worlds poor will live in countries where their survival is threatened by violence. The data also show that yesterdays humanitarian settings are becoming todays development contexts. For example, a map of fragile states from the OECDs 2018 States of Fragility report and a map depicting constraints to humanitarian actors are almost indistinguishable. Today, development and humanitarian access constraints overlap, particularly in Africa. The good news is that, with the help of technology, security actors such as peacekeepers could help development agencies reach the poor even in the most dangerous field locations.

Fragile situations

Source: OECD States of Fragility2018

Humanitarian access rankings

Source: ACAPS Humanitarian Access Overview, May 2019

For development agencies, growing insecurity in fragile states poses a massive problem because their own institutional tolerance for security risks has traditionally been very low. As a result, insecurity and fragility increasingly shape where and how poverty reduction takes place. From the perspective of project implementation, this translates into frequent mission suspensions, caps on personnel, and disruptions in essential poverty reduction work. From the perspective of program design, avoiding red zones can lead to a concentration of resources in safer areas, a trend that has been observed in the humanitarian literature. According to a review of relief operations in Afghanistan, Somalia, South Sudan, and Syria, security threats significantly determine the geographic location of personnel and services, pushing humanitarians to cluster in better known, safer areas. In a more extensive study, the same authors noted a path dependency whereby security-related decisions in programming lead to access inertia. Poverty reduction programs run the same risks, as insecurity can skew decisions about the geographic spread of projects, resulting in a mismatch between development needs and resources.

Access limitations, however, are far less applicable to peacekeepers. The United Nations Department of Peace Operations manages 14 active peacekeeping missions in fragile and conflict-affected countries such as Central African Republic, Mali, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Sudan. The African Union oversees nearly 20,000 peacekeepers in Somalia. These missions comprise military and police officers who may witness, negotiate, or engage in combat with armed groups or extremist militants while on patrol in highly insecure areas which for development agencies are still no-go zones. This greater tolerance for insecurity thus brings greater access to the poor on the frontlines of conflict. But when equipped with the right geospatial mapping technology, peacekeepers could transfer their first-hand knowledge of insecurity to those whose mission is to fight poverty.

To see how this could work, consider the Geo-Enabling for Monitoring and Supervision (GEMS) initiative developed by the World Bank. GEMS builds the capacity of government agencies to use the appropriate technology for data collection and analysis in fragile states in order to improve monitoring and evaluation. When work on a project begins, representatives from the government and partner organizations are trained to develop and administer a data platform that stores information gathered during field visits. The data are collected with mobile devices, in the form of structured questionnaires, and can cover any topic relevant to the success of a project. Once uploaded on the platform, the information can be accessed by all institutions involved in project management. In other words, an economist interested in the impact of a community-driven development intervention can check progress from the field on her screen in near real-time, even if access constraints prohibit her from traveling there in person.

Similar geospatial mapping tools customized for peacekeepers would allow them to share structured data on violence and insecurity with development experts. Data collection efforts could range from identifying the number, type, and intensity of violent incidents in conflict hotspots where peacekeepers regularly conduct missions, to monitoring attacks by armed groups in areas where schools, hospitals, dams, and roads are being built. This data integration could help security and development actors achieve their independent and interdependent goals. Granular information on violent incidents could help development actors navigate highly complex fragile environments where poverty will be concentrated in the future.

Combining poverty with security maps could also allow development agencies to create access strategies for projects that deliver services to the poor trapped in active conflict. They could also implement course corrections in project delivery or determine when they need third-party monitors. Since security provision is a public service, data gathered by peacekeeping forces could help measure the degree to which governments advance on providing accountable and effective security servicesan essential component of Sustainable Development Goal 16 to promote just, peaceful, and inclusive societies. Strengthening the capacity of peacekeepers to gather and systematize data could also help build much needed monitoring and evaluation systems that enhance the U.N.s ability to measure the impact of peacekeeping on the ground, especially when it comes to protecting civilians.

Data integration between security and development institutions will certainly be challenging. Beyond distinct risk thresholds, the different institutional mandates, organizational cultures, and at times labyrinthine bureaucracies are bound to complicate such an endeavor. There are also valid concerns about data integrity and privacy, especially when it comes to data about the poor. Yet, if security and development actors stay true to their mission, they will need to go where no man has gone before and build on each others strengths to fight poverty wherever it exists.

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Geospatial peacekeeping: How soldiers and technology can help fight poverty - Brookings Institution

This article contains someSPOILERS for Black Mirror, currently available to stream on Netflix.

Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror paints a dystopian picture of society's relationship with technology. Satirical and allegorical tales set in dark fictional future worldsfeature characterswho've become victims of the technology they're surrounded with, or have anunhealthy obsession with the media. Others are extreme metaphors for a "Tech Apocalypse" that could very well be happening in the present day.

RELATED: Black Mirror: 10 Times the Show Predicted the Future

The frightening thing about Black Mirror is that, as sci-fi goes, it's not that far-fetched. Every day, new technology develops andexistingtech is refreshed, potentially bringingthe real world closer to Brooker'smacabre realities. So, is life imitating art as it did in the past with novels like HG Wells's The Time Machine and George Orwell's 1984? As the old clich suggests, perhaps reality is stranger than fiction.

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Robert Daly (Jesse Plemons) createshis own virtual world that's populatedby digital clones created from his co-workers' DNA. Inthis Star Trek-style virtual world, he ruleshis trapped virtual clones with an iron fist.

Thereare two types of technology at play in this episode,both of which already exist. DNA-based cloning is evolving by the year. And though consciousness has yet to be cloned, scientists have already physically cloned a sheep (Dolly) and other animals since.

RELATED: Star Trek: 5 Scientifically Accurate Details (& 5 That Make No Sense)

The other technology that's prominent isthe immersive virtual environment. And in the broad sense, thisexists in many forms today. In the context of USS Callister in relation to today's tech though, virtual environments and MMORPGs are currently a global phenomenon, with millions of players living immersive lives completely separate from their real-world ones, in virtual environments that become more realistic with every new release.

PopstarAshley's (Miley Cyrus) consciousnessis uploaded into "Ashley Too", a small robotic version of her belonging to teenage fan Rachel (Angourie Rice).And Ashley Too, Rachel, and hersister Jack (Madison Davenport) embark on a rescue mission to save the real Ashley, who has been put into an induced coma by her aunt.

While Ashley is comatose, her captors use "Vocal Mimicry Software" to reproduce her singing voice. In the real world today, emerging technologies like "Deep Voice" claim to be able to clone a voice by sampling just 3.7 seconds of audio. Later on, a visual simulation of Ashley is created for a performance, mimicking her physicalcharacteristicsand mannerisms. "Deepfake" technology is already doing this on a slightly more rudimentary level. Brain uploading is still science fiction. But organizations like Carboncopiesare working on it.

Season 1's Fifteen Million Merits presents a few technologies that are already out and about in the world. Bing Madsen (Daniel Kaluuya) and all the other characters consume their media and interact via touchless screens, which have already appeared on several devices inthe real world. The food the characters eat is "grown in a petri dish", as mentioned by Swift (Isabella Laughland), and produce grown from cells is turning out to be a reality already, with many start-ups in the testing phase.

The episode also sees everyone riding exercise bikes to power the world around them and earn their "Merits" (this world's version of money). That's a concept that'scurrently taking off because of new eco-friendly technologies that use the kinetic energy generated by humans tocreate sustainable electricity solutions.

Hated in the Nation is set in a world where humanity has developed robotic bees powered by artificial intelligence to supplementreal bees' diminishing population. But the bees are hacked and used as murder weapons.

RELATED: Black Mirror: Every Object in Black Museum

In the present day, a group of scientists from the Delft University of Technology in Holland aims to counteract our declining bee population with the robotic "Delfly". The Delfly is a bee-like drone which is designed to pollinate plants and crops for the benefit of Holland's invaluable agricultural industry. There's no sign of them killing anyone yet though.

Kenny (Alex Lawther) and Hector (Jerome Flynn) both fall prey to malware that hijacks their webcams and hasablackmailer send them off on a series of frightening errands under threat that compromising video footage of them will be released. The premise is very much based on current technology and hacking methods that are frequently used by blackmailers today.

One incident involved Cassidy Wolf, a former Miss Teen USA, whofell victim to a blackmailing hacker whoused malware to hack into the computer in her bedroom. The hacker threatened to release compromising images of the beauty queen unless she took her clothes off for him on camera.

Liam Foxwell (Toby Kebbell) lives in a society in which people have "grains" or chips implanted behind their ears. The implants record everythingusers see and hear, allowing them to "re-do", playing back their memories through their eyes or a monitor.

Elon Musk's proposedNeuralink interfaces directly with the human brain through a series of tiny sensors, implanted using "minimally invasive" micro-robotic surgery. The implantsends data to a computeror smartphone for a variety of purposes. Musk claims that the Neuralink has potentially far-reaching benefits for the advancement of medicine and the treatment of diseases like Parkinson's. But is humanity readyto get this personal withtechnology?

Two star-crossed lovers, Frank (Joe Cole) and Amy (Georgina Campbell) are brought together and then torn apart by "The System", which guides each of them through a series of encounters with potential life partners. Each encounter comes with an expiration date, based on supposed compatibility, and all the data collected by The System is collated to match people with their perfect partners.

RELATED: Black Mirror: Season 5 Episodes Ranked, Worst to Best

The algorithmsused by Tinder and other dating appsare founded on the same principle. They find potential matches for people based on a variety of factors like interests, personality profile,a prescribed "type", and physical location.

Chris (Andrew Scott), adriver for a taxi app called "Hitcher," picks up Jaden (Damson Idris) - an employee of social media giant, "Smithereen" and holds him hostage at gunpoint, demanding a direct line to the company's CEO, Billy Bauer (Topher Grace). While all of this is going on, the police listen to Chris via his phone.

None of this is unfamiliar. Taxi apps like Uber and Boltare getting people rides every day. And the social media app in this episode, "Persona" is basically Facebook. The technology the police use to listen in on Chris and Jaden isn't a leap of the imagination either. Devices can be hacked, and law enforcement agencies are cleared to do it in many instances. Many smartphone users arealso convinced that companies like Google and Facebook listen to their conversations.

Nosedive is a disturbing take on social media that's extremely close to home. In the episode, social mediaopinionbecomesthe currencythat is used toestablishpeople's status and position in society. This mostly happens on mobile devices - much asit does in our everyday lives.

The episode sees protagonist Lacie Pound (Bryce Dallas Howard) desperately trying toclaw her way up from a 4.2 rating to a 4.5 (out of 5) so that she can qualify to get a fancy apartment. Today, social media connectivity is already there. And social media opinion is a tool through which "influencers" are adored and pariahs are ostracized for their actions or opinions.

In Black Mirror'sdebut episode,The National Anthem, politics andthemedia collide under nasty circumstances. A malicious kidnapper holds a British Princess hostage and demands that England's Prime Minister (Rory Kinnear) engages in a sexual act with a pig on live TV and online media.

None of the technology featured in this episode is futuristic. In fact, it's allexistedfor quite a while. YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook are all part of our everyday lives and so is the news media. Andwhile a prominent politician having intercourse with a pig is quite extreme, it's an effective metaphor for the influence the media has in governmentand public opinion.

NEXT: Black Mirror: Every Reference to the Pig Prime Minister in later Episodes

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10 Technologies From Black Mirror That Have Already Been Invented - Screen Rant

Rayvolt's newly announced X One e-bike.

While people like to talk about electric and autonomous automobiles, another real battle in the transportation category is occurring in the e-bikes market. Its for good reason: according to Mondor Intelligence, the global e-bike market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.39% between 2019 and 2024. In U.S. dollar terms, Mondor estimates that global revenue will jump from $14.8 billion in 2018 to nearly $21.4 billion in 2024. These are serious numbers that have caused a "gold rush" of sorts between dozens of players, including some legacy bike brands and many new startups.

This growth is propelled by battery technology advances that allow many e-bikes to travel more than 50 miles on a single charge, higher global fuel prices, and the fact that there are more brands with reasonably priced models to choose from than ever before. In addition to this, e-bikes are becoming more popular with transportation sharing service companies (like Lime) as a safer and more mainstream alternative to scooters.

Unfortunately, one of the consequences of this e-bike gold rush is that the market is flooded with many "me too" e-bikes that offer little in the way of feature differentiation, innovation, and style. In particular, many of the e-bikes from startup companies look depressingly utilitarian and industrial and do not inspire the average consumer the way automobiles have over the past century. Rayvolt is one of the few breakout companies in the e-bike category that distinguishes itself from the scores of other players. This week, the company kicked off an impressive new model called the X One via an Indiegogo campaign.

X One: an e-bike fit for George Jetson

I enthusiastically wrote about Rayvolt earlier in the year after attending its coming out party reseller event in Barcelona. I was immediately impressed with Mathieu Rauzier, Rayvolts founder, who spoke extensively about his vision to create a one-of-a-kind e-bike by concentrating on stylish industrial design, use of premium materials and technology innovation (extending to mobile app integration). As I wrote back then (and it remains true today), swagger is unquestionably the word that one would use when describing a Rayvolt e-bike.

With Rayvolts X One announcement, the company chose to make some heavy bets on raising the technology bar in the e-bike category. Described by Rayvolt as the first of a new generation of modern electric bikes being developed under the Rayvolt brand umbrella, there's several striking technologies that have the potential to disrupt the e-bike category. Lets take a closer look.

The X One features an all-new aluminum composite frame paired with a carbon fiber fork, which allows it to deliver comprehensive e-bike functionality at only 48 bounds. Ingeniously, the X One includes a fully integrated 42 volt (16Ah) battery in the bike's frame, adding remarkable structural rigidity without adding superfluous mass to the overall "flow" of the X One's structure. What's more, the X One promises to offer the first backpedal proportional regeneration system that permits riders to simply pedal backward to slow its pace. The X One also includes an integrated gyro sensor that intuitively engages regeneration when riding downhill. While the X One has elements of Rayvolts design language that is prevalent in its Cruzer, Beachin', and Torino models, it will also be available in a variety of rich colors, including Original Copper, Devil Black, Urban Grey and Neon Graphene.

The X One's smartphone app incorporates facial recognition technology.

Safety features

In a nod to safety considerations, the X One offers a plethora of integrated lights to makes 24/7 riding safer and more accessible. Ambient photosensors are integrated into the X Ones frame that turns the headlight and taillight on automatically (a feature that has been common on cars for years).

In one of its more innovative features, the X One's smartphone app was designed to utilize facial recognition to improve the ride experience. As the X One was smartly designed to allow the most popular smartphones to securely dock inside the frame itself (below the handlebar), kinetics can be used (for example, the blinking of the left or right eye) to activate turn signals automatically. The facial recognition software also looks for the owner and automatically unlocks the bike when the owner is appropriately identified. This latter capability is the definition of cool and useful innovation. Long term, I can envision how these technological innovations could be beneficial to ride sharing companies who might want to utilize Rayvolts e-bikes in short-term rental scenarios.

Rayvolt is not your typical e-bike company

With the X One announcement, Rayvolt continues to position itself as a premium e-bike company that does not rest on its laurels. As I've mentioned before, while the overall e-bike category is growing at an impressive pace, the market is inundated with many participants that lack a differentiated vision or are merely competing on price. Many will not stand the test of time. Rayvolt, on the other hand, should be commended for delivering the type of 21st-century innovation that the e-bike category acutely needs.

Rayvolts X One will be available in June 2020 and can be ordered on Indiegogo with special campaign pricing that starts at $1,999. An excellent overview video of X One is available via this link.

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Rayvolt's X One Redefines The E-Bike Category With 21st Century Technologies - Forbes

Space companies worldwide want to bring more data to your devices, faster than ever before.

Entities ranging from SpaceX to Amazon are launching (or may launch soon) huge numbers of new satellites that can carry the extra bandwidth. And cellular network providers around the world are upgrading their equipment on the ground to meet the expected future demand.

This new technology is being built out for new 5G networks. It's touted as a big leap over current 4G technology, which allows you to do data-intensive things like stream Netflix.

Related: 5G Network: How It Works, and Is It Dangerous?

5G will be even better, Will Townsend, a senior analyst for market research firm Moors Insight & Strategy, told Space.com. Users will experience less latency, he said. Latency refers to the time it takes to send a packet of data to a receiver (like a cellphone) on a network. 4G networks have about 50 milliseconds of latency, and 5G networks are expected to be 10 times better, with latencies of less than 5 milliseconds.

This will result in a "faster and more responsive" experience, Townsend said in an email. "For consumers, this will equate to faster downloads and a non-buffered video playback experience," he said. "Mobile gamers will appreciate fast responsiveness." Business applications will range from remote manufacturing to telesurgery, he added, and there will be a "richer retail experience bridging online capabilities." The growth of 5G will also help to address the rise of the internet of things, or the proliferation of network-connected, or "smart," devices. There are already smart fridges, stoves and security systems, for example, and consumers are also using wearable devices that share bandwidth on crowded mobile networks.

Meanwhile, businesses have embedded tracking devices in locations such as shipping containers, oil and gas lines, and power generators, with each device providing real-time information on the status of the thing being tracked. This information is meant to make it easier for companies to respond if something breaks and to keep better track of shipments crossing the globe with manufactured goods. Whole industries may change with the rise of connected devices, such as driving (with the use of autonomous vehicles) or factories (with production lines that may be able to monitor themselves).

In the United States, the big four carriers AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon have already launched mobile 5G in a handful of metro areas. For example, as of July, Sprint had deployed mobile 5G in parts of Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and Kansas City, Missouri, according to an article Townsend wrote for Forbes. And deployment will continue for all carriers through the rest of 2019 and into 2020, he said.

In many cases, however, you won't be able to access the network with your older device. Once the infrastructure equipment is upgraded, consumers will need to buy new cellphones. Check your preferred brand carefully. "Samsung and Android devices will lead Apple by 18 to 24 months in handsets," Townsend said. But there is big potential for carriers, who "are spending billions globally to upgrade the networks because they see the potential in monetizing new services," he added.

On the business side, one of the big arguments for moving to 5G is the ability to participate in "Industry 4.0," or the fourth industrial revolution. This term commonly refers to factories embedded with wireless connectivity in their machines and equipment. Using emerging artificial intelligence, the goal is for the factory to monitor its own production line and to make changes as needed for safety, efficiency or other needs. Some analysts worry that AI could replace jobs and make unemployment rise, while others are optimistic, saying new job opportunities will arise with the new technology.

Related: Elon Musk Worries That AI Research Will Create an 'Immortal Dictator'

Many space entities are rushing to be trendsetters in 5G. For example, SpaceX has received approval to launch nearly 12,000 Starlink internet satellites (and recently applied to loft up to 30,000 more). In May, SpaceX launched its first 60 Starlink craft, which operate at a low-Earth-orbit altitude of about 342 miles (550 kilometers). (For comparison, the International Space Station orbits about 250 miles, or 400 km, above Earth.)

OneWeb has satellite-internet plans as well. The company plans to assemble a constellation of nearly 650 satellites to make web access easier around the world. OneWeb launched the first group of six satellites in February aboard a Soyuz rocket provided by European launch company Arianespace. These satellites circle Earth in near-polar orbits, at an altitude of roughly 750 miles (1,200 km). Amazon and Facebook are among the other companies planning 5G satellite networks.

The proliferation of 5G satellites in orbit raises a number of questions from industry observers. A big one is the rising risk of collisions, which could, theoretically, spawn huge populations of orbital debris. The world got an inkling of this risk last month, when a European satellite made a precautionary maneuver to dodge a potential collision with one of the SpaceX Starlink satellites.

Related: Space Junk Cleanup: 7 Wild Ways to Destroy Orbital Debris

There also are worries about radio-frequency interference with all of these coming satellites. Operators of weather satellites, in particular, are concerned about some of the authorized 5G frequencies approaching the 23.8-gigahertz frequency commonly used in weather forecasts. At this bandwidth, "water vapor in the atmosphere gives off a feeble signal," and the satellites can examine humidity in the atmosphere, even if the region is cloudy, Popular Mechanics reported. That said, both NASA and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are negotiating with the Federal Communications Commission (which allocates spectrum frequencies to U.S. companies) to protect weather satellites, according to Popular Mechanics.

There's also concern that the abundance of satellites will interfere with sky observations. In June, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) expressed concern that thousands of satellites could interfere with the ability to examine dim and distant objects, not to mention the lives of nocturnal animals. "We do not yet understand the impact of thousands of these visible satellites scattered across the night sky, and despite their good intentions, these satellite constellations may threaten both," IAU officials said in a statement at the time.

As the 5G providers work out these kinks, there may be unpredictable effects of the new mobile technology, Townsend said. "Case in point: 4G LTE brought the capabilities required to make ride sharing a reality; no one really predicted that use case," he said. Townsend called this a positive development, as it "disrupted a multibillion [dollar] taxi cab industry [and] created new income opportunity" for individuals.

Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

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Space Companies Are Investing Big in 5G Technology - Space.com

We are, according to research, on the brink of a mass human (dis)connection crisis United States.

A new study by Cigna found that nearly half of Americans lack daily meaningful interpersonal interactions with a friend or family member, while 43 percent say they have weak relationships and experience feelings of isolation, and a devastating 18 percent claim that they feel there is no one that they can talk to. Alongside this loneliness epidemic is a touch, or lack-of-touch, crisis.

As technology rapidly begins to take over various aspects of our lives from food delivery to gene editing, could machines possibly replace human touch? One artist thinks it might be the future.

Photography: Scottie Cameron

The Compression Carpet is a machine created by Los Angeles-based artist Lucy McRae that simulates a hug to a person craving intimacy.

It works like this: A person is sandwiched horizontally between a pair of cushions which offer a full-body embrace. The cushions are colored peach and brown, providing the aesthetic of warm skin tones in order to enhance the illusion of being cradled by human flesh. To use the machine you would lie down inside the cushions while another person cranks the handle to squeeze the machine around you. He or she determines the firmness of the machine's hug.

The machine was unveiled at the San Francisco exhibition Festival of the Impossible, which explored the future intimacy between humans and machines. Participants were able to try out the Compression Carpet, with many leaving with "a glazed look in their eyes" after being squeezed McRae told Dezeen.

McRae, a science fiction artist and body architect, uses her art to examine a statement she makes on her website claiming, "We are going to have a revolution of what it means to be human."

As we move toward a touch crisis in which we're inundated with technology to the detriment of our mental well-being, McRae says that the Compression Carpet and its sister creation, the Compression Cradle, question whether technology will vie for our affection because of our obsession with the digital.

It might already be happening. Like it or not, smartphones wrapped in synthetic flesh might soon be a thing.

Researchers have developed a skin prototype called Skin-On Interfaces, sensitive skin-like cases that can be put over mobile phones, watches, or laptop touchpads to simulate skin-on-skin touch. The fake flesh intelligently registers nuances of touch and associates them with various human emotions. For example, anger is associated with hard pressure, while stroking is understood as comfort. The next step is adding anthropomorphic bells and whistles to make the smartskin more realistic, such as temperature features and, uh, embedded hair.

Because skin is what we use as an interface when interacting with other humans, the idea behind Skin-On was to add this human-like interface to our communicative mediation devices., explained Marc Teyssier, a developer of the synthetic sleeve, to Hypebeast.

The irony of our modern predicament has been pondered many times over: Today we are perpetually connected via smartphones and various social media platforms, and yet studies are showing that we're more isolated than ever before. It fact, those who never used social media scored lower on the UCLA loneliness scale than heavy users. And according to Cigna's study, it was Generation Z, once dubbed the iGeneration, who were the loneliest.

This connection deficit isn't just heartbreaking, it is toxic. We are hardwired to connect, our well-being depends on it. Multiple studies have shown that the lack of human connection has alarming impacts on physical and mental health such as increasing blood pressure, higher cortisol levels, and an increased risk of substance abuse and addiction. The New York Times reported that growing, substantial evidence is linking loneliness to physical illness along with functional and cognitive decline. It even predicts premature death better than obesity.

What Cigna found after analyzing its loneliness study results was that it is rooted in a disconnect between the mind and the body.

"We must change this trend by reframing the conversation to be about 'mental wellness' and 'vitality' to speak to our mental-physical connection," said David M. Cordani, president and chief executive officer of Cigna, in the report. "When the mind and body are treated as one, we see powerful results."

It might be that we underestimate the need for a connection that goes beyond the cognitively processed interactions we receive through smartphones. Could we need somatic feel of another human in order to reconnect?

Plenty of research indicates how important human touch is. For instance, famous studies demonstrating the vital importance of affective touch on children's cognitive and social development. According to Francis McGlone, a professor in neuroscience Liverpool John Moores University, millions of years of human evolution has inscribed the need for affectionate forms of touch into our genomes.

"We are destined to cuddle and stroke each other at predetermined velocities," McGlone told The Guardian in 2018.

What McRae's art suggests is that it is this specific kind of touch, touch that conveys compassion, that we are deprived of in our increasingly touch-phobic society. It's something that no text, GIF, reaction, or emoji can replace. But perhaps new sensory technology will.

Maybe society will come to believe that it isn't just the pressure squeeze of affectionate embrace or the sensory feel of soft, squishy skin that is amiss, but a beating human heart behind that touch that we seek to reconnect with. After all, there must be some significance in the fact that hearts of those emotionally and socially close to one another beat in sync.

Or maybe we're all inevitably headed for a brave new world where machines hug us 'till they drug us. Who needs physical human companionship when smartphones are sheathed in faux flesh?

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Sign of the times: Can hugging machines solve the touch crisis? - Big Think

Chances are youve seen the caption Instagram vs. Reality on social media. While the first photo is typically picture-perfect, the second attempts to inject some realness (and humility) into the situation.

For instance, parents often use the caption to show off a photo of their child smiling and looking directly the camera followed by another shot of said child in full meltdown mode. Its quickly become a way for people to not-so-subtly acknowledge that much of what we post doesnt tell the whole story.

The sentiment behind the caption is one that HP has tapped into for its latest campaign, Get Real. The spot repeatedly asks viewers if the many things weve become accustomed tolike responding lol to a text without actually laughing at all, or celebrating your dogs birthday by posting a long-winded tribute on social media instead of simply spending time with itare doing us any favors.

Created by Goodby Silverstein & Partners, the spot concludes by asking viewers if weve collectively lost touch with whats real.

The campaign promotes HPs printing business, the idea being that its better to print out a photo and stick it on the refrigerator than post it on Facebook and hope it racks up hundreds of likes from acquaintances disguised as friends.

Vikrant Batra, who was promoted to HPs chief marketing officer last year, said the campaign was created to show how many of the brands productslike its pocket-sized Sprocket printer that can print photos instantly from a smartphonegive users a way to bring their digital creations into the real world.

Weve lost the digital and analog balance in our lives, Batra said said. We strongly believe that we should be using techtech should not be using us. We have a fantastic, innovative portfolio that helps people connect the digital part of their lives and create a lot more physical memories.

The work marks the first out of GS&P since the agency started working with HP again. The two parted ways nearly 10 years ago following a longtime relationship, during which the agency created campaigns for the brand including The Computer Is Personal Again and Everything Is Possible.

In recent years, much of HPs advertising has focused on diversity and inclusion. In 2017, the company debuted a video featuring LGBTQ+ families to showcase its commitment to fostering an accepting and welcoming workplace. Last year, HP conducted a social experiment and film to challenge stereotypes around what an all-American family looks like.

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HP Calls Out the Many Ways Technology Has Stripped Our Lives of Authenticity - Adweek