Topic: Technology

Burner Cards and Financial Privacy

– March 26, 2020

The growing demand for virtual cards also serves as a good reminder that the ability to exert control over one’s personal information when making transactions isn’t just a feature that drug dealers want. Regular folks operating in the above-ground economy demand a degree of privacy, as well.

Economic Trends, Technology

Why We Must Keep Section 230 and Pay the High Cost of Free Speech Online

– February 20, 2020

One can’t pretend the internet hasn’t made the dark side of free speech more dangerous. But rather than a censor, it’s time for a gut check.

Art and Culture, Technology

What Brilliant TikTok Reveals about Human Creativity

– February 17, 2020

I used to make it a habit to try out all the latest social technology, if only to observe its function, rules, and contribution to the culture. That habit stopped last year during the “techlash:” I too found myself convinced that we’ve probably overind …

Technology

Search Engines are Better Than Hogwarts

– February 13, 2020

We live better lives today than the aristocracy and the richest of our forefathers did in the past. But in some ways, we also live better lives than the wizards and witches of J. K. Rowlings’ wonderful world.

Technology

It’s Legal for Politicians To Text You Spam

– January 30, 2020

Here’s the great irony: the law purporting to ban spam texts actually ends up permissioning the political class to break the terms of the law for themselves. Otherwise, technological innovation alone would likely have fixed this problem already.

Technology

Venmo, The Public Version

– January 19, 2020

As Vice reports, New York lawmakers want to create a “public Venmo.” Venmo, which is owned by PayPal, allows users to make person-to-person payments. Under the proposal, New York State would build and operate its own Venmo-like payments platform. …

Technology

Alternative Non-State Forms of Governance

– January 9, 2020

For many problems, though, non-profits have trumped governments and for-profits, including mutuals. People need to remember the non-profit option before turning to governments or for-profits for aid.

Technology

Where are the Flying Cars?

– January 6, 2020

We have good planes, good helicopters, good drones, and good cars. In the end, maybe they just need to be different things, for a while longer.

Free Banking, Technology

Financial Services and Hate Speech

– December 17, 2019

The battle over financial deplatforming isn’t going to go away. Before we act, let’s be sure we’ve thought things over.

Technology

Manual Labor Will Be Revived

– December 11, 2019

In fact, one outcome of AI and automation may well be a revival of manual labor and of the traditional working class — maybe becoming more like an artisan class again.

Technology

Why Passenger Railways are Terrible and Freight Railways are Amazing

– December 11, 2019

American railways are the envy of the world. Many might shake a collective head at that statement. In the case of passenger rail that is an appropriate reaction. Since it was pieced together – a government-constructed Franken-rail system built of …

Technology

What’s Good and Bad about Automation

– December 7, 2019

What automation of any kind does is to make work more productive and hence to free up time and resources by increasing the intensity of the use of resources.