Should AI get rights?

September 8th, 2012

I’ve sometimes wondered about the likes of The Animatrix and Battlestar Galactica, whether if we do produce AI that wants to be alive or have other rights, will we be mature enough to give them those rights. I really hope we will be, but people are pretty slow to adapt to change. But! We’ve had lots of sci-fi stories to help us ponder and prepare for that day. Maybe we’ll have prepared ourselves. (If you haven’t seen The Second Renaissance from The Animatrix, then definitely watch it.)

Sadly, from the looks of this article on TechDirt and its comments, from a generally intelligent community, it looks liked here’s no hope we’ll skip the atrocities the next time there’s an oppressed group in our society.

What’s happening to the Mac Pro?

November 4th, 2011

I own a Mac Pro, and my brother has been considering getting one for HD video editing of amateur/no-budget movies. The market for the Mac Pro has been shrinking for a while with many people that would have previously chosen a Mac Pro, choosing an iMac or MacBook Pro. The recent rumours of Apple considering ending the product line has given me pause to consider what the future might be for computer users with high needs.

I’ve written a series of articles exploring the future of the Mac Pro. I’ve split it to consider the wider context separately from Apple and the Mac Pro itself. Read the rest of this entry »