Tag Archives: IoT

Toaster: Extraordinary Ordinary Things

When they wake up and prepare breakfast, one of the first things millions (if not billions) of people around the world do is slip a couple of slices of bread into a toaster, before preparing the rest of their morning repast. However, the toast is almost always first because, to paraphrase a famous advertising slogan for orange juice, “a breakfast without toast is like a day without sunshine.”

While early electric toasters were a vast improvement over previous means of converting slices of bread into toast, they still had a long way to go before becoming the absolute go-to utensil required for composing the first meal of the day.

Because of the central role, it plays in human nutrition, and for numerous other reasons, I believe the electric toaster unquestionably deserves a place on the list of what I like to call “extraordinary ordinary things.”

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AI in the Green Revolution 2.0

Most technology enthusiasts these days will mention automation using artificial intelligence (AI) as a key factor in the future of computing. The computing community is promoting AI as a one-stop solution to every complex problem. Technology companies are introducing AI-enabled products in many domains such as automotive, consumer electronics, healthcare, social media, and finance. Based on some recent studies, AI is expected to contribute 16 percent or $13 trillion to the global economy by 2030.

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Dealing with Infrastructure Disruption: IoT Security

Editor’s intro: The Internet of Things (IoT) has become a hot topic because of unprecedented cybersecurity problems that have caused massive outages of key Internet services. IoT devices can help improve the lives of individuals, but lack of market incentives has led to huge cybersecurity vulnerabilities that threaten to undermine national infrastructure and public trust. Prof. Kevin Fu was invited to a U.S. House Hearing by Chairman Greg Walden of the Subcommittee of Communication and Technology and Chairman Michael Burgess of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade to discuss IoT vulnerabilities and what might be done about them. We are pleased to present a copy of his testimony. Continue reading Dealing with Infrastructure Disruption: IoT Security

How Much Higher Can ICT Rise? On the Final Limits of ICT

Information and communication technology (ICT) is the most distinctive cultural accomplishment of the last half century. It is unprecedented in sophistication and transformative power. Presumably there’s no limit to sophistication. Moore’s law will reach a silicon limit, but it is likely other physical substrates and structures will take over and extend computational limits. But what about the cultural transformations? Is there an end in sight? Continue reading How Much Higher Can ICT Rise? On the Final Limits of ICT