Microsoft employees refuse to work on HoloLens contract with US Army

Approximately 50 Microsoft personnel so far stated in a petition they “do not want to become war profiteers.” This comes after the software company signed a $480 million contract to provide the U.S. army with HoloLens, an augmented reality system. After a copy of the petition appeared on Twitter Friday afternoon, a Microsoft employee told […]

Watch: Astronaut’s GoPro shows the moment he exits the ISS and enters space

In many ways, the introduction of small, portable cameras like the GoPro has changed the way the world is able to participate in extraordinary circumstances. From extreme sports to combat footage, the influx of lightweight and resilient cameras in the commercial market has been it possible for us to see incredible things from the comfort […]

Watch: Insane Saudi C-130 low pass skims the heads of spectators

If you’ve ever spent time around a C-130, you know just how big these birds are. They’ve made a name for themselves across decades and nations, serving in national militaries and, in slightly different iterations, global corporations around the world, and as such, there’s no shortage of stories about the incredible things you can accomplish […]

New Year’s shenanigans: US Strategic Command boasts of nuclear arsenal, then deletes tweet

This past Monday, hours before America welcomed the new year, the U.S. military command in charge of the country’s nuclear arsenal published a tweet that had people anxiously looking skyward. U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) boasted that it’s prepared to “drop something much, much bigger” than the Times Square ball traditionally dropped in New York City […]

Do you have an Instagram account? You might be the target of Russian hackers

According to a report by the Senate Intelligence Committee, Instagram was the Russian government’s most preferred method of manipulating voters during the 2016 U.S. Presidential Elections. Although it was known that Russian hackers had utilised social media to disseminate their propaganda during the elections, it wasn’t known that Instagram, in particular, had played that big […]

Continued: The Greek tragedy of social media

Please read the first part here. I would assert that while no country would want to repeat the mistakes of ancient Greek democracy, we’ve nevertheless seen it reappear on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. And the same perverse outcomes and injustices have been the result. Since 2012 Twitter has suspended a variety of […]

The Greek tragedy of social media

In 339 B.C., the Greek philosopher Socrates found himself on trial for his life. He stood accused by the masses of impiety for not recognizing the gods of the pantheon, and for corrupting impressionable minds by introducing new deities for them to worship. Upon conviction, Socrates was sentenced to death. He agreed to kill himself by […]