On March 23, 2016 Microsoft launched Tay AI, an experimental Twitter chatbot that learned and changed based on human input. Tay AI was designed to emulate the tweets of a teenage girl, and its original purpose was to engage and … Read More
Science & Technology
Gravitational Waves Hit Us After 1.3 Billion Years
For the last few months the discovery of gravitational waves has been all over the news, but what are gravitational waves and what do they do? Gravitational waves are distortions in the fabric of space- time caused by violent and energetic … Read More
FBI and Apple: An Attack on Privacy?
The Department of Justice lawsuit against Apple has been front page news for the past two months. Between the amicus briefs and numerous documents filed, it can become easy to lose sight of the origins and ramifications of the conflict. … Read More
You, Me, and Everyone Else is Part Neandrathal
In the extensive family tree of human evolution, the Neanderthal man is one of the closest relatives to the modern Homo sapien sapien. The two species shared a common ancestor 600,000 years ago that contributed similar core characteristics to its … Read More
Google Cardboard and The New Era of Journalism
I am standing on the ledge of the helicopter soaring by the side of the Empire State Building. I glance down cautiously to behold a giant man depicted flat on the ground and little specks of real humans stomping all over him. … Read More
Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics
There are only three types of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics. Attributed to the British Prime minister Benjamin Disraeli, Mark Twain first popularized this adage in the United States; it is as relevant today as it was when Twain first quoted … Read More
Hoverboards: New Traffic for Our Sidewalks
The Hoverboard, Swagway, Swegway, or whatever you call them gained an unprecedented amount of publicity and traction in 2015. As with any product on the market, they come in many colors, shapes, and sizes, but they all follow the same … Read More
Tips on Tech: Nailing the Interview
As the age of technology continues, companies are being created to suit this new economy. With these new companies come new jobs and new opportunities for career advancements. Pew Research published a 2015 study showing the growth of tech sector … Read More
Voodo Economics
“A term coined by George H. W. Bush in reference to Ronald Reagan’s economic plans. Reagan focused on supply side economics — encourage economic growth by cutting taxes and encouraging the rich to be more productive, similar to trickle-down economics.” Well, … Read More
El Niño: The End of or a Pause in the California Drought? 
California’s rainy season generally starts in early March and lasts until late October, but for the past four years it seems as though we have been stuck in a perpetual state of April- September. Across the state, lawns are browning, … Read More
Fracking Side-Effects Endanger Local Populations
Hydraulic fracturing is a well-stimulation technique in which a rock is fractured by a hydraulically pressurized liquid that consists of water, sand and chemicals. This fluid is injected into the ground, under enormous pressure, to make cracks in deep-rock formations … Read More
Hawaii: The New Mars
Ever wonder what life on Mars is like? Well, scientists who are about to participate in the longest study yet, eight months, at the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation, or Hi-Seas for short, can tell you all about that. … Read More
Bobsleds, Shiba Inus, and the Wacky Economics of Dogecoin
Cryptocurrencies” are defined as a digital medium of exchange. Since the inception of Bitcoin in 2009, a massive wave of digital currencies has flooded the global internet market. While Bitcoin still reigns as the dominant digital currency of the world … Read More
Cheap Kits Make Programming Accessible for Kids
Boasting four kilobytes of RAM and a $666.66 price tag (roughly $2,750 in 2014 dollars, adjusted for inflation), the Apple-I home computer went on sale in April 1976. It did not include a case, keyboard, or monitor, but The Byte Shop … Read More
The Costs and Benefits of Drones
Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), better known as drones, are coming to an airport near you. Widely known for their use by the United States military in the Middle East, they have been used for both reconnaissance as well as for … Read More
Video Game Violence
As far as controversial modern technology goes, video games reside near the top of the list. Video games that sell apply to a market that has been taken over by flash, incredible imagery and, perhaps most noticeably, extreme violence. In … Read More
The Sort-of-Homecoming of Tech Manufacturing
Is tech manufacturing returning to the United States? In a world where almost everything is made in China, being made in the U.S. carries some serious cachet, but there are some other advantages to American plants: U.S. manufacturing plants can … Read More
The Maker Movement: Passion to Inovate
U.S. high schools and junior high schools used to offer shop classes to give students hands-on experience with craftsmanship. Lick-Wilmerding is one of the last high schools in the United States that offers—and requires—technical art classes as part of … Read More
Artist-Engineer Jie Qi Lights the Imagination
Jie Qi, an avid crafter and skilled engineer, has found a new way to define electronics. By combining her self-professed love of paper with her abilities to create flexible electronic circuits (“soft circuits”), Qi has created a wide range of … Read More
The Sort-of-Homecoming of Tech Manufacturing
Is tech manufacturing returning to the United States? In a world where almost everything is made in China, being made in the U.S. carries some serious cachet, but there are some other advantages to American plants: U.S. manufacturing plants can … Read More
The Internet is a Force for Good and Evil
Between 2000 and 2009, the number of people on the Internet worldwide rose by nearly 1.5 billion users—and the number continues to rise. Offering the ability to spread campaigns and ideas and to allow words to be documented and retrieved … Read More
Ballmer’s Retirement Leads to Questions on Future of Microsoft
Steve Ballmer, the chief executive officer of Microsoft, announced on August 23rd that he would be retiring within the next twelve months. This action has led Microsoft to question its future as a company, and its hopes for a replacement … Read More