Friday, June 28, 2019

Free streaming movies, TV and documentaries

If you don't want to pay for Netflix or any of the other streaming movies and TV services here's a great alternative. Kanopy is a streaming service supported by many local libraries and universities. Log in with your library card or university login and get access to movies, TV shows and documentaries. It's particularly strong on independant art-house movies and docos. It also provides apps for iOS, Android and Amazon.

Wednesday, June 19, 2019

Tackling bias in artificial intelligence (and in humans)

Algorithmic bias has become a hot topic in recent months and as AI becomes more widely used the subject is becoming ever more important. McKinsey & Co have published a new report titled: Tackling bias in artificial intelligence (and in humans). They write that "the growing use of artificial intelligence in sensitive areas, including for hiring, criminal justice, and healthcare, has stirred a debate about bias and fairness. Yet human decision making in these and other domains can also be flawed, shaped by individual and societal biases that are often unconscious. Will AI’s decisions be less biased than human ones? Or will AI make these problems worse?" Their report is an interesting read.

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

RIP iTunes

Last week Apple announced that iTunes will be being withdrawn (at least on the Mac). After nearly 20 years iTunes will be replaced by three separate media apps: Music, TV, and Podcasts. It's hard to remember what a game changer iTunes was when it was launched and how it changed the music industry allowing people, for a small cost, to download individual songs from the iTunes store. Combined with an iPod it changed the way we listened to music. However, in recent years streaming music services like Spotify, Pandora and Apple Music have accounted for 75% of music sales. Whilst, for those who want a physical copy of the music, vinyl album sales have soared. RIP iTunes.