6th October 2017
From Warped (by @krishoet) : ‘It’s probably inevitable at this point that we’ll end up living in an always-watching surveillance state, and this video of a CCTV facial recognition prototype in action is a troubling preview of what that might look like. The recognition suite, built by Chinese company SenseTime, includes SenseVideo — which allows tracking and classification of objects — and SenseFace — which scans and matches faces to a database.
Nice piece from @faris on ‘decisive moments’ . This is the point at which marketers want to connect with customers, but often struggle to do so. Of course, it is not that easy and digital is not always helping. ‘Marketing works in various ways. Some activity fulfils demand; brand activity works over the long term by building memory structures that impact decisions down the line. The confusion of the two is one of the great disappointments of digital.The maxim of right message, person, moment, and cost holds true if we understand this. The decisive moment is not always going to be when someone is about to buy something. It usually won’t be.‘
With Blade Runner once more amongst us and (despite being long and slow) getting some pretty good reviews. Interesting to see the impact it has had, since most Brits think A.I. should be regulated by the ‘Blade Runner rule’. This rule says it should be illegal for AI applications such as social media bots, chatbots and virtual assistants to conceal their identityand pose as humans.
The very excellent Dots Conference in Brighton took place recently. Unfortunately I was unable to make it this year, but it provided a surprising and inspiring line-up as always. Speakers included – Bruce Daisley, Neil Perkin, Sussex wine maker Sam Linter and Syima Aslam from the Bradford Literature Festival. A short summary of events here.
To show teens how they can be creators, Made with Code is joining forces with Snap Inc. to host a first-of-its-kind competition called #MyFutureMe. Oh Snap! Teens are coding the future.
Canon just announced that it’s developing a new “Free Viewpoint” virtual camera system that will let you virtually move around inside a recorded event. This is some view of a football match.
And, this is some algorithm, Time Capsule by Spotify. TC is a personalised playlist with songs to take you back in time – to the stuff you were listening to in your youth. My first 5 artists were Blondie, Lloyd Cole, Heaven 17, Earth Wind and Fire and Terry Jacks. Very accurate and somewhat unnerving. Especially the last one.
Hoodmaps tells you where different tribes exist in a number of cites. Who is your neighbourhood full of? – Suits, the Rich, Tourists or Hipsters?
So, this pod of dolphins appear infatuated with a couple of squirrels, outside their tank.
Charming theory in this lovely illustrated book. ‘It takes all kinds of people to make a world, the expression goes. But maybe it really takes only two kinds. People who put ketchup on their fries, and people who put the ketchup on the side. People who squeeze gently from the bottom, and people who manhandle the toothpaste tube.’