Consumer Electronics & Product Reviews

There have been quite a few pundits, futurists, and normal people weighing in on how AI might end the world. Skynet is a popular villain. Ultron if you're younger, HAL9000 if you're of a certain age. The plot is always the same: AI goes bad and attempts to destroy the world until an unlikely human hero saves us. It makes for a good story, but the real threat posed by AI isn't that obvious, nor is it anywhere near as engaging – which is why it is extremely dangerous. Continue Reading →

Hello. My name is Shelly. I'm a Chrome user. I've been off Google for nine days. (Hello, Shelly.) I did it. I replaced Google. Perplexity is now my default search engine. It's cathartic. I feel like my world has changed forever. The thing is… I don't miss Google. Not even a little bit. If you follow in my footsteps – not only will you not miss Google, there's a good chance you'll never look back. Continue Reading →

CES 2024 was like stepping into a sci-fi movie. Only the popcorn was real, and the special effects were available for pre-order. I walked all 2 million square feet of exhibit space (several times) using one essential filter: “Technology is meaningless unless it changes the way we behave.” While it’s true that AI was the overarching theme of this year’s show – that’s like saying integrated circuits, or data, or electricity were the theme of the show. AI is table stakes now. It’s incorporated everywhere it’s needed (like all of the other enabling technologies), so there’s no need to call it out. That said, there were a few standouts in Las Vegas last week. Here’s a short list of my favorites. Continue Reading →

Technology is meaningless unless it changes the way we behave. So far, I’ve found some super interesting new tech that I will write about after the embargoes are lifted and CES is officially underway. Continue Reading →

Foreshadowing CES shows yet to come, Google's DeepMind has introduced three new robotic training tools: AutoRT, SARA-RT, and RT-Trajectory. Continue Reading →

I just started working on a vast music project that is screaming to be done in partnership with an AI co-arranger, co-orchestrator, co-audio engineer, co-musician(s), co-producer, along with fully automated mixing, mastering, and packaging for distribution. Do all of these functions exist in one AI platform? Here's a list of notable AI music generators: Continue Reading →

Streamflation, a portmanteau of "streaming" and "inflation," is an apt name for the streaming industry's relentless pursuit of the highest price you'd ever be willing to pay for a streaming service. In practice, content prices never come down - so you could argue that there's nothing to see here. But there is. Continue Reading →

Meta AI has introduced AudioCraft, a text-to-music AI model that does an impressive job of composing, arranging, orchestrating, and playing in a wide range of musical styles. Not only can it create or mimic a melody, but it also engineers and produces fully finished work, some of which is already suitable for commercial use – and this is only V1. Imagine where the state-of-the-art will be a year from now. Continue Reading →

In a stunning display of AI prowess, Meta AI has introduced AudioCraft, a single-stop code base that does an impressive job of composing, arranging, orchestrating, producing and playing music. AudioCraft is not just an AI that can mimic a melody. It's a sophisticated system that can create music, sound effects, and even handle audio compression. Continue Reading →

At CES 2017, wearing complexity as a badge of honor, Mark Fields (Ford Motor Company CEO) told a room full of tech analysts and reporters that the onboard computers in a Ford GT 25 were running 10 million lines of code – more than Lockheed used in an F-35 fighter jet. He proudly announced that all Ford motor vehicles were going to be, "computers on wheels." Continue Reading →