“When Tamir Rice was killed by police officers in Cleveland, Ohio, in 2014, some observers assigned a portion of the blame to a 911 dispatcher. She relayed a citizen’s concern that a black male was sitting on a park swing, pulling a gun from his waist band, and pointing it at people.”
Read: A Police Department’s Secret Formula for Judging Danger
“Last week at CES, I got to try a haptic jacket straight out of Ready Player One. It’s gotten glowing reviews from testers, but in order to work, its electrode-lined fabric needs a direct connection with your body. On anyone built roughly like its male creators, it looks like a snug wetsuit.”
Read: Building for virtual reality? Don’t forget about women
“Teegan Lexcen was born in August with a heart and lung defect so unusual that doctors had never seen it before. She has only one lung, and almost all of the left half of her heart is missing.”
“Tamir Rice’s beyond tragic death has exposed painful assumptions that seem hard-wired into the (white) American psyche about black children. The video sequence of Rice’s killing has been read in a variety of ways.”
Read: A YouTube video showing 2 white girls receive black dolls for Christmas sparks controversy
“Twitter has hired a new head of diversity, news that should have prompted a chorus of cheers from those hoping the company would take the issue more seriously. Jeffrey Siminoff, former director of Worldwide Inclusion & Diversity at Apple, will take on the prominent role.”
Read: Twitter still has a major problem with employee diversity
“In most countries, the existence of a credit system isn’t controversial. Past financial information is used to predict whether individuals will pay their mortgages or credit card bill in the future. But China is taking the whole concept a few steps further.”
“If early reports prove true, Ford and Google will announce the development of a self-driving car initiative at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas early next month, a mutually beneficial partnership that could provide a blueprint for the next shift in the transportation industry.”
“Washington Governor Jay Inslee has ordered corrections officials to halt some prison releases after announcing today around 3,200 prisoners were released early due to a programming error, according to a report from NBC affiliate King-5 News.”
Read: Thousands of prisoners in Washington got out early because of a software glitch
“If you’ve always wanted to know how come the iPhone is capable of shooting high-quality photos even though on paper it doesn’t seem to have the best camera on the market, we’ve got some pretty good news for you.”
Read: Apple Discloses the Secret Behind the iPhone Camera: 24 Billion Operations for Each Photo
“We may one day live in a world where hit-and-runs are impossible if all of our cars are programmed like this one. Last week, a woman in Port St. Lucie, Florida was rear-ended by a black Ford that took off after hitting her. Via WPBF:”
Read: Florida woman’s car calls police after she flees the scene of an accident