Tech | Conversatori

Why More Robots Doesn’t Mean More Free Time

Where automation promises to reduce labor, it often raises expectations, increases cognitive load, and expands the amount of work people are responsible for. Where robots and AI take over tasks, humans find themselves managing, correcting, and accelerating around them in new forms of invisible labor. Unless society deliberately chooses otherwise, technological efficiency amplifies productivity, not free time. Automation was supposed to set us free. That was the promise, from the assembly line to generative AI: machines would take over the dull, dangerous, and repetitive tasks so we could drift toward more meaningful work, or leisure, or maybe just a gentler pace of life. And yet, here we are, surrounded by more robots, algorithms, and "smart" systems than ever—and nobody seems to have any free time. In fact, people feel busier. The paradox isn't that machines fail to save labor; it's that they change the structure of work itself, often expanding expectations faster than they relieve…

Amanda Hicok

How Data Became the New Insider Trading

Data has become a form of insider trading for the modern era, affording companies and hedge funds predictive power once reserved for illicit corporate leaks. The proliferation of alternative data—from geolocation patterns to emotional sentiment—creates new information hierarchies regulators aren't equipped to handle. Women, whose consumption patterns often drive entire markets, are particularly valuable as "unintentional insiders." As data becomes the new currency of advantage, the line between fair forecasting and unfair information edges grows increasingly blurred. Once, insider trading required mahogany-paneled boardrooms, whispered tip-offs, and a very expensive suit. Now it requires something far more mundane: a Wi-Fi connection and the ability to scroll. Data—endlessly harvested, bought, sold, modeled, and nudged—has crept into the same moral gray zone once occupied by boardroom secrets. And unlike traditional insider intel, this new form isn’t rare, risky or exclusive.…

Amanda Hicok

The New Age of Satellites

Earth's orbit now has over 10,500 active satellites, facilitating communication, navigation, science, and surveillance. The recent surge—fueled by private companies like SpaceX—has democratized space access but also begat serious issues like debris, light pollution, and regulatory mayhem. Our satellites reflect both the brilliance and the arrogance of a species that has learned to look down upon itself from above. In the bad old days, the evening sky was empty—barring stars, myths, and the occasional weather balloon mistaken for a UFO. Today, however, the heavens are a jammed space highway of man-made satellites. There are over 10,500 operational satellites orbiting the globe as of late 2025, another 3,000 or so deceased ones floating through the cosmos as stationary space trash. What began as a Cold War experiment is now an orbital economy, a gossamer web of imperceptible infrastructure which interconnects, watches, and occasionally spies on each corner of the world.

Amanda Hicok

Why Silicon Valley is the New Olympus

This article explores the ways in which Silicon Valley has become a modern Olympus, and technopreneurs and technologists as our new gods in a new mythology of progress and transcendence. Through rituals like product roll-outs and origin myths about garage start-ups, technology is a religion that delivers salvation through innovation. But beneath this divine myth is a cautionary reality: even gods can fall, and their creations can still charge a human cost. A long time ago, the gods lived on Mount Olympus. Today, they live in Palo Alto, Cupertino, and Mountain View. The modern pantheon traded in thunderbolts for algorithms, laurel wreaths for wireless headsets, and temples for sleek glass offices. Silicon Valley, with its bizarre mixture of rational engineering and messianic fervor, has become the wellspring of our new mythology—our cosmos in which technological innovation is at once divine revelation. The founders, engineers, and venture capitalists are creators, to be sure; creators…

Amanda Hicok

When AI Starts to “Feel” Human

The article explores the rise of “synthetic intuition”—AI’s growing ability to mimic human instinct and emotion through data-driven pattern recognition. As machines begin to “feel” in statistically convincing ways, the line between empathy and algorithm blurs, raising ethical and philosophical questions about authenticity, connection, and bias. Ultimately, it argues that AI’s emotional mimicry may reveal more about what makes us human than what makes it intelligent. MSC, Roboter Sophia MSC 2018, CC BY 3.0 DE

Amanda Hicok

Space Junk Crisis

Earth’s orbit is becoming a hazardous junkyard filled with millions of fragments from satellites, rockets, and human error. The growing risk of collisions threatens not just space missions but the very possibility of future exploration. Solving it will require global cooperation, technological innovation, and, perhaps most importantly, a new ethic of responsibility in how we treat the cosmos. It’s not enough that we’ve filled the oceans with plastic and the atmosphere with carbon—humanity, never content with half-measures, has now managed to clutter the cosmos. Our planet’s orbit, once pristine and unblemished, is now strewn with the debris of our ambition. From defunct satellites to the occasional lost astronaut tool bag, space is becoming less of a frontier and more of a floating junkyard. And unlike on Earth, there’s no celestial sanitation department to tidy things up.

Amanda Hicok

Agro-Tech Cities of the Future

Agro-tech cities are emerging as futuristic urban centers that integrate high-tech farming—such as vertical agriculture, AI-managed crops, and hydroponic systems—into the very fabric of urban life. They offer resilience against climate change and supply chain disruptions while transforming cityscapes into greener, more sustainable environments. Yet, they also raise questions about equity, cultural continuity, and corporate control over food systems. Ultimately, the rise of agro-tech cities reflects both the promise and the pitfalls of using technology to reshape how humanity feeds itself. Cities have always been engines of human ambition, but the latest version comes with a decidedly green twist. Agro-tech cities—urban environments built around high-tech agriculture—are beginning to take root across the globe. Blending farming with advanced technology, these cities promise not just to feed their own populations but also to reinvent the relationship between people, food, and

Amanda Hicok

Quantum Computing for the Rest of Us

Quantum computing is not just for scientists; it’s a technology that could transform industries from medicine to finance. Using principles like superposition and entanglement, quantum computers solve problems classical machines cannot. While still in early stages, cloud platforms and educational resources make it accessible to curious individuals, offering a glimpse into a future where computation is radically reimagined. Anita Fors (Chalmers), Quantum-computer-Chalmers 2017, CC BY-SA 4.0

Amanda Hicok

Environmental Costs of AI Models

AI models may appear immaterial, but their training and operation consume enormous amounts of energy, water, and hardware resources, leaving a significant environmental footprint. From carbon emissions to rare earth mining, the ecological costs of artificial intelligence are deeply tied to global inequalities and unsustainable practices. The challenge ahead lies in reconciling the promise of AI with the urgent need for environmental responsibility. Artificial intelligence is often described as immaterial—lines of code, floating in the cloud, conjuring predictions, poems, or portraits with a few keystrokes. Yet, the truth is far from weightless. Every large AI model is rooted in an immense material infrastructure: sprawling data centers, server racks, and energy-hungry GPUs that crunch and train on oceans of data. This invisible scaffolding comes at a significant ecological cost, one that is only beginning to be reckoned with as AI becomes central to our daily lives.

Amanda Hicok

Room-Temperature Superconductors Changing Energy

Superconductors, which allow electricity to flow without resistance, have long required extreme cooling, limiting their practical use. Recent breakthroughs suggest room-temperature superconductivity is possible, though often under impractically high pressures. The discovery promises profound effects on energy, transportation, computing, and medicine, while also offering new hope for combating climate change. Though challenges remain, the rise of room-temperature superconductors could usher in one of the most transformative technological eras in history. For over a century, superconductors have held a mystique that feels closer to science fiction than everyday physics. First discovered in 1911, superconductors are materials that can conduct electricity with absolutely no resistance—no wasted energy, no heat loss, just pure, frictionless current. The catch? They only worked under extreme conditions, often cooled to near absolute zero. This made them more a laboratory curiosity than a…

Amanda Hicok

New Haptic Skins for Virtual Touch

Haptic skins are flexible, wearable devices that recreate the sensation of touch in virtual environments. Built from stretchable electronics and soft robotics, they have applications in gaming, medicine, and emotional connection, potentially transforming how people interact across distance. While challenges like comfort, cost, and ethics remain, their promise is enormous. By making digital worlds tangible, haptic skins could redefine the role of touch in technology and human connection. For decades, science fiction promised us virtual reality worlds where we could not only see and hear but also touch the impossible. Until recently, VR remained largely a visual and auditory experience. But the rise of haptic skins—flexible, wearable devices that mimic the sensation of touch—signals a turning point. No longer confined to controllers or gloves, these paper-thin materials promise to blur the boundary between the physical and the digital.

Amanda Hicok

Solar Paint: Turning Walls into Power Plants

Solar paint is an emerging technology that transforms ordinary walls and surfaces into energy generators by mimicking the function of solar panels with special light-absorbing compounds. While current prototypes are less efficient and durable than traditional panels, the potential lies in their affordability, versatility, and seamless integration into architecture. From urban apartments to rural villages, solar paint could democratize renewable energy and accelerate decentralized power production. Even if it never fully replaces panels, its contribution to a patchwork of sustainable technologies may reshape how we think about both energy and the built environment. For centuries, walls have served a purely passive role—keeping the elements out, holding structures up, and giving painters and graffiti artists a canvas. But what if those very walls could hum quietly with the work of power plants? Solar paint, a developing frontier in renewable energy, promises just that: surfaces that…

Amanda Hicok

Brain-to-Text Interfaces are Here

Brain-to-text interfaces are emerging as a revolutionary leap in communication, translating neural activity directly into written words. These devices hold life-changing promise for people with paralysis or speech impairments, while also opening new possibilities in education, creative work, and productivity. Yet the technology raises thorny ethical and cultural questions around privacy, workplace surveillance, and the very nature of language. As with past communication revolutions, its impact will be shaped not only by innovation but by the choices we make about how—and why—we use it. In the long arc of human communication, the leap from quill to keyboard was revolutionary. But today, the newest frontier isn’t about faster fingers—it’s about bypassing them altogether. Brain-to-text interfaces, once the stuff of science fiction, have now entered the laboratory and, increasingly, the marketplace. These devices promise a world where thought itself becomes a written sentence,…

Amanda Hicok

Leveling Up IRL

Gamification has transformed self-improvement into a quest-like industry, turning daily habits into achievements, streaks, and levels. While this can make routines more engaging, it often traps people in endless cycles of guilt and consumerism, with apps and industries profiting from our drive to “level up.” The metaphor of life as a game can be motivating, but it risks oversimplifying complex experiences and shifting control of our goals to outside forces. Ultimately, gamification is only healthy when we remember that we can choose which quests are worth playing—and which ones we can simply abandon. Somewhere between checking off a to-do list and chasing a dragon in World of Warcraft, our daily lives have started to look suspiciously like quests. Fitness apps reward us with badges for running a mile. Productivity tools let us “level up” by completing streaks. Even financial apps nudge us along with colorful progress bars, encouraging us to treat paying off debt like…

Amanda Hicok

When Robots Make Art

When robots make art, we are no longer just spectators—we are the hidden brushstrokes, the training data behind the machine’s creations. These works carry no intention of their own, forcing us to project meaning onto artifacts stitched together from our collective cultural past. In this uneasy exchange, we discover that the line between creator and audience has blurred, leaving us both haunted and reflected in the art of the machine. When robots make art, we face an uncanny moment of reflection: is the work meant for us, or are we simply feeding the machines that made it? For centuries, the artist’s hand was the marker of authenticity—brushstrokes, fingerprints, or idiosyncratic flaws became proof of human presence. Now, algorithms trained on oceans of data can mimic those gestures with uncanny precision, generating paintings, poems, and symphonies that feel eerily alive. The result forces us to rethink not only what art is, but also who—or what—it is for.

Amanda Hicok

The Era of Bespoke Bionics

Bespoke bionics are shifting prosthetics from standardized medical devices into personalized works of engineering and art. By blending AI, 3D printing, and design, they allow users to express identity while regaining function—sometimes even enhancing it. The movement challenges old notions of normalcy and disability, reframing prosthetics as symbols of creativity, individuality, and possibility. In this future, technology doesn’t just restore—it redefines what it means to be human. Sebastiaan ter Burg from Utrecht, The Netherlands, Tilly Lockey at the SingularityU The Netherlands Summit 2016 (29653981075), CC BY 2.0

Amanda Hicok

Beneath the Waves the Internet Cools

Underwater data centers, like Microsoft’s Project Natick, aim to use the ocean’s natural cooling to reduce energy consumption, improve server reliability, and cut latency for coastal populations. While early tests show promising results in efficiency and durability, questions remain about environmental impact and large-scale feasibility. If successful, they could become a sustainable, offshore backbone of the internet, quietly running beneath the waves. DariaSamuel, Kolos, le plus grand data center du monde , CC BY-SA 4.0

Amanda Hicok

VR Fitness Worlds

VR fitness worlds merge the immersive thrill of gaming with full-body exercise, transforming home workouts into high-energy adventures. By keeping players mentally engaged and socially connected, they make fitness feel more like play than labor. While challenges like headset comfort and cost remain, advancing technology is rapidly smoothing the path. These virtual arenas may not replace gyms, but they’re redefining how—and why—we move. Once upon a time, the phrase “home workout” conjured up images of dusty yoga mats, squeaky resistance bands, and aerobics instructors cheerfully bouncing on VHS tapes. Today, that same phrase might mean strapping on a virtual reality headset, gripping motion controllers, and stepping into a neon-lit arena where your heart rate soars as you slash holographic enemies or sprint through alien landscapes. VR fitness worlds have turned the humble living room into a high-intensity playground, merging gaming’s immersive thrill with the discipline of

Amanda Hicok

Micro-Drones the Size of Mosquitoes

Mosquito-sized micro-drones represent a major leap in drone miniaturization, capable of stealthy surveillance, environmental monitoring, and even potential medical applications. Their small size allows for unprecedented access to delicate environments, but also raises concerns about privacy and misuse. Engineers face challenges in power supply, navigation, and control, but advances in AI and materials science are making them increasingly viable. The technology’s dual-use nature means its future will depend heavily on how regulations keep pace with innovation. The latest frontier in drone technology is shrinking to a scale that would have once been considered science fiction. Micro-drones, no larger than a common mosquito, are emerging from research labs into potential real-world applications. These insect-sized devices are often lighter than a paperclip, powered by tiny actuators or micro-rotors, and equipped with sensors that rival those in much larger drones. Engineers are…

Amanda Hicok

The Everyday Tech Holding Up Our World I

From undersea internet cables to sensor-filled trash cans, modern life runs on a web of invisible technology most people never see. These hidden systems quietly optimize cities, enable instant payments, and even guide hospital logistics. But with invisibility comes risk—both in system failure and ethical oversight. Appreciating the unseen tech around us means recognizing just how deeply it's woven into the rhythms of our everyday lives. Stealth Communications, Stealth Fiber Crew installing fiber cable underneath the streets of Manhattan, CC BY-SA 3.0

Amanda Hicok

What Happens to Your Data After You Die

Our digital lives don't end when we do. From ghost accounts and legal gray zones to AI memorials and digital wills, the fate of your data after death is both eerie and urgent. Companies benefit, algorithms continue learning, and our memories persist—sometimes uncomfortably—online. Planning your digital afterlife might be the most modern form of legacy there is. The 21st century has brought us many conveniences—instant messaging, cloud backups, facial recognition. But it’s also brought us an existential quandary fit for Black Mirror: What happens to your data after you die? Your emails, Instagram selfies, Google search history, unread Slack messages, and even your biometric data—do they pass into the digital ether? Or do they haunt the internet forever, spectral remnants of your online self?

Amanda Hicok

What Is Algorithmic Bias? When Data Discriminates

Algorithmic bias occurs when computer systems produce unfair outcomes due to flawed data or design choices, often harming already marginalized communities. It can manifest in areas like policing, hiring, and healthcare, reinforcing societal inequalities under the guise of neutrality. Without transparency and oversight, these systems risk becoming black boxes of discrimination. Fixing the issue requires intentional, ethical design and inclusive collaboration across disciplines. In an era dominated by algorithms—from social media feeds to credit scoring systems—the promise of objectivity and efficiency has never been more alluring. Yet lurking beneath the surface is a growing concern: algorithmic bias. This term refers to the systematic and repeatable errors in computer systems that create unfair outcomes, particularly for marginalized groups. Far from being neutral, algorithms can inadvertently perpetuate and even amplify existing human prejudices, hidden within the data they are…

Amanda Hicok

Moore's Law and Shrinking Technology

Moore’s Law, the prediction that computing power would double every two years, revolutionized technology by setting the pace for exponential growth in hardware and digital innovation. Though not a physical law, it became a guiding principle for engineers and a cultural expectation for consumers. As physical and economic limits slow this trend, its spirit continues in cloud computing, AI, and emerging technologies. Ultimately, Moore’s Law symbolizes the human drive to outpace boundaries—technological and otherwise—shaping not just our devices, but our sense of progress itself. We have moved! Please visit /highwaysengland, HA0478-006 (6011470974), CC BY 2.0

Amanda Hicok

Techno-Optimism vs. Techno-Doom

The modern world is torn between techno-optimists, who believe technology will save us, and techno-doomers, who warn it will undo us. These competing ideologies influence everything from public policy to personal habits. While each side offers insight, a balanced, critical optimism may serve us best. Technology is neither savior nor saboteur—what matters is how we wield it. In the grand theater of the 21st century, two rival philosophies dominate the tech discourse like dueling opera divas. One sings a hymn of salvation, praising the algorithmic ascent of humanity into an age of boundless possibility. The other snarls an elegy, warning of an irreversible spiral into surveillance, soullessness, and the seductive tyranny of convenience. These are the poles of techno-optimism and techno-doom, and depending on who’s speaking, your phone is either a Promethean torch or Pandora’s box.

Amanda Hicok