From too big to fail to too big to go on. — Lately, I haven’t been using Facebook anymore. Over the past two or three years, I kept convincing myself that I needed it for my photography business or to stay connected with people. It was like a giant interactive phone book. So, despite hating it, I kept my account. Admittedly, a…

Digital or printed. — Many years ago, there was a blogging community built around the Opera browser called my.opera. It provided a platform for photographers, bloggers, and people from all walks of life to share their experiences. It was an exciting place that fostered a vibrant community. However, one day, everything came to a…

Rewatching the TV show Caprica and observing its relevance today. — So, you’re an insanely rich CEO of a company like Boston Dynamics, and you want to secure a contract with the Ministry of Defense for your robot soldiers. However, the current version of the robots doesn’t work very well, and your whole business is in danger. At the same time…

Apple Vision Pro headset and its horrors — Two days ago, Apple introduced their new device, Apple Vision Pro, the first serious virtual reality goggles targeted at a wider audience. What they offer is, by all accounts, the most immersive virtual or mixed reality experience available. To achieve this goal, they are packed with technology that seems to…

An exhibition review. — Palazzo Sarcinelli in Conegliano (situated about 30 minutes from Venice) currently hosts an interesting selection of Vivian Maier’s self portraits. The exhibition is entitled “Shadows and Mirrors,” which conveniently captures the photographic essence of this opus. Vivian Maier, an enigmatic figure in the world of photography, captured the hearts of…

And what is there to be afraid of? — It is very hard to wrap our heads around what’s happening now with AI development, but some things do smell a bit fishy. The Terminator scenario is suddenly being debated at the highest levels of politics, like in Congress or the EU Parliament, but I think they are just pulling…

Schools are mere replication machines, creating more teachers at best. — A while ago, while researching language-learning techniques, I came across a youtube comment from a woman who described her husband’s experience with Spanish. The couple was from Texas, and her husband was an electrician working with Mexican coworkers. During his work, he spontaneously picked up most of the language he…

While synthetic, it is still human art. — The era of generative AI has arrived, as evidenced by the impressive presentations at Google I/O and Microsoft’s recent showcase. Many of us have been playing with tools like ChatGPT and MidJourney to create impressive works that, while not yet true art, are certainly on their way there. Some are…

And these are my first impressions — About twelve years ago, I watched the movie Baraka, which featured the Shah Cheragh mosque, and since then, I have been longing to visit Iran. Although I had heard many great things about the country, nothing could prepare me for the cultural shock I experienced. The…