Nora Young and Cathi Bond
Listen to writer/broadcasters Nora Young and Cathi Bond as they freak over the future. They can't believe it. Neither will you.
We kick off the new season of The Sniffer with a machine learning twofer for you. Cathi Bond talks about this New York Times look at the workers who label the data that machine learning is trained on, in particular, in a medical context. Nora Young talks about machine learning hype and this article on how to spot "AI Hype". She also mentions this Atlantic article by the excellent tech writer Sidney Fussell.
This time, Cathi Bond talks about subscription fee creep, where inch by inch your monthly subscriptions are piling up. Here's Gizmodo's interesting take. How about you? Do you find the number of services you're subscribed to creeping up? Meanwhile, Nora Young talks about this lovely and helpful post over at Legal Nomads. It's a curated 10 week introduction to meditation, that gives you a taste of a number of mainstream meditation approaches, so you can see what works for you. And, are you having
Hope you're having a good summer! This time, Nora Young talks about this Technology Review article on advances in machine learning in tech hubs in Africa, such as Accra and Nairobi. Cathi Bond has some summer fun for you! Tesla came out with this limited edition, super stylish surfboard (via New Atlas). And, looking for a little, um, calm water fun? How about this? The Wheeebo disc that lets you glide, slowly, along the water.
This time around, Cathi Bond talks about this project by celebrated Canadian architect, Moshe Safdie (you can read more about it in this release). Nora Young raises this article in The Verge on the use of AI in the design of Hollywood film. Over the summer, we'll be releasing new episodes once a month, and then back to a proper bi-weekly schedule after Labour Day. Have a great summer!
Long time, no podcast! We are back! This time, Nora talks about this Nautilus article on using VR headsets to foster empathy, and the disturbing idea that empathy may be on the wane. Cathi has a more lighthearted story with Digit, a bipedal robot that would deliver packages to your door via autonomous vehicle, when those cars are not otherwise being used (via New Atlas). Check out the video! Nora mentioned a few related stories that ran on Spark in the past: Friction-free racism (relevant part i
On this podcast, Nora Young talks about technologies of home surveillance. As this article in The Outline discusses, are these home security features just making us more paranoid? And who gets to decide what constitutes "suspicious" activity? Cathi Bond looks at this review of the EEGSmart Udrone, which lets you control a drone's flight with your mind. It also contains features that enable facial and gesture recognition. As drones get 'smarter' and more popular, are we enabling a surveillance cu
On this podcast, Cathi Bond talks about Stitchfix, and their data-driven approach to retail. Based on your extensive profile, clothes are selected for you and delivered to your door. You have three days to return or buy whichever items you want. Would you opt for this? Super convenient, or would you miss the 'retail therapy'? Read more at Fast Company. Are you in a Mad Men mood? How about a visit to the TWA Hotel? A development company is opening a hotel built around Eero Saarinen's vintage hote
On today's podcast, Nora Young talks about Ordine, from Italian design studio, Adriano (via Core77). It's a smart solution for people who don't need an oven, and don't want to dedicate full time real estate to a stove top. The Ordine burners hang on the wall when not in use. Simply put them on the counter when you're ready to go. They use induction heating, (they refer to it as an "induction hub") so you don't have to worry about blazing hot burners sitting out on your counter. See pics and othe
This time, Cathi Bond looks at ElliQ a companion robot for older folks who may need a little support. Would aging Baby Boomers who still want autonomy and something tech forward adopt this kind of thing in years to come? (Via IEEE Spectrum) Nora Young mentions this article in the British Library blog, documenting the strange history of Johann Struensee, who brought in freedom of the press to 18th century Denmark, only to be immediately publicly ridiculed in that newly free medium. Well worth a r
Hey there! We are back! This time, Nora Young talks about "aeroponics": a sort of next gen hydroponics where the plant roots are just dangling out in the air, nourished by nutrient-rich misters (via Modern Farmer). You can even "plant" them vertically. Whole new potential for a plant wall! Nora also mentions the fine folks at Normative Design in Toronto, and their smart and engaging series on Design + AI. Cathi Bond talks about this PSFK article exploring how brands are starting to use cartoon c
Best of the season to you! Cathi and I are back with some fun for the holidays. This time on the podcast, Cathi Bond talks about Affetto, this startlingly realistic android robot. Cathi wonders about having something like this, or Rock Hudson, say, as a home companion. Personally, I (Nora) find it kinda creepy. What do you think? We take a quick look at the city of Helsinki's decision to go for a hiring system that removes all personally identifying info (eg sex, age, mother tongue) in an effort
Hi all! Thanks for coming back! We've been a long time gone, but we are at it again! This time, Nora Young talks about the challenges streaming film services have, and this Forbes article about how two niche movie streaming services have managed -- or not -- to make a go of it. Cathi Bond thinks there's a lot to be learned from the cable world in the form of Turner Classic Movies. Cathi looks at a really cool idea in place in China: dropping small, modernist, smartly designed housing 'inserts' c
Apologies for the long delay, but we are back at last! This time, dockless bikes are all the rage, promising wheels when you need them, without having to lock them up at dedicated stations, the way you do with Toronto's Bike Share, or Montreal's Bixi. Now, one of the leaders in the dockless bike space, Lime, is taking advantage of the GPS-enabled nature of the bikes to share anonymized data with cities (via Technology Review). Smart use of data being collected anyway, and smart PR move to get ci
On this podcast episode, Nora Young talks about a super smart idea for capturing the wind energy created by passing vehicles: small wind turbines along the roadside. See more at Core77. Meanwhile Cathi Bond has two cool earbud designs for you. Firefly are quick charging, inexpensive wieless earbuds with long battery life (via NewAtlas). Then there's Bose's innovation: sleepbuds, designed to be noise cancelling and super comfortable to help you sleep (via Engadget)
Battery life can be a real problem. Cathi Bond tells Nora about research out of Cornell, suggesting a proming model based on a more complex, folded shape. Best of all, it charges almost immediately. Read more at New Atlas here. What would it take to get you into a mall in 10 years? One vision from British retail development group, Westfield, is for a sort of one-stop retail, wellness entertainment hub (via Springwise). It's actually really quite cool. Check out the interactive images here.
On this podcast, Nora Young talks about a few different stories about IKEA's expansion plans and new lines, including partnerships on surprising products like fragrance, expansion plans for Indian cities, and modular pieces that can be re-assembled into different kinds of furniture for small spaces. Cathi Bond points us to this Gizmodo article about the late painter, Bob Ross, whose PBS instructional show was a surprising hit. Now, his soothing voice is being used as a sleep aid. Apparently, Cal
On this podcast, Cathi Bond talks about this New Atlas article on the history of the drug, Ketamine, and new research into its potential as a treatment for depression, along with questions about how to avoid negative side effects. Nora Young chats about this article in The Outline on Spyce, a new restaurant in Boston, which is almost entirely automated. Is this a novelty, or a sign of the future? Links: The Outline: https://theoutline.com/post/4657/please-welcome-the-humanity-free-grain-bowl-l
We've both been very busy, so had to take a Sniffer break for a bit, but we're back with two fun, eco-friendly design stories for ya. Cathi Bond loves outdoor living, tree houses, and mini-homes, so she was in heaven when she found Sky-Pod, a gorgeous, teardrop shaped tree house inspired by Victorian crinolines (via New Atlas. Check out the images). Nora Young talks about Mylo, a leather-like material made from mycelium, which is the underground network underneath mushrooms (via Core 77, complet
We're back after a little break! This time, Nora talks about EMBER, a release of a large dataset of "avatars" of malware by a cyber security company. The idea is to use it to help machine learning learn to recognize malware (via Technology Review). Cathi talks about the city of Daye in China. Streets are equipped with technology to catch people jaywalking...and spray them with water! Read more at Gizmodo. Nora also mentions the book vending machine at The Monkey's Paw bookstore in Toronto (via N
On this podcast, Nora Young talks about a text Netflix has been conducting: offering kids virtual badges for watching certain episodes of kids' programming (via Engadget). Cathi mentions her latest DVD purchase, Sabrina. Cathi Bond talks about Peloton (via PSFK), which is basically gym spin class as a service. You buy the bike for your home, and a membership, and you participate virtually in a class, alongside other spinners. Nora mentions this review of Peloton at the excellent review site, The