technology Archives

‘THE SMARTPHONE SOCIETY’ BOOK RELEASE AT HARVARD BOOK STORE (3.11)

Join author and Jacobin editorial board member Nicole Aschoff for a discussion about how tech empowers community organizing and protest movements to combat the systems of capitalism and data exploitation that helped drive tech’s own rise to ubiquity.

BINJ ONLINE February 13, 2020

CRIPPLED EPISTEMOLOGY

Boston researchers have spent years helping government agencies plan and simulate operations to troll potential terrorists. Despite controversial practices and lackluster results, the covert operations continue.

JONATHAN RILEY August 9, 2018

THE FANTASY ROBOTS OF BOSTON DYNAMICS

Image via Boston Dynamics / YouTube Relax—we’re a lot further away from an automaton takeover than you may think The MIT spinoff company Boston Dynamics has become famous from its videos on YouTube showing off its nine robot creations: Atlas, Spot, Spot-Mini, BigDog, Wildcat, LS3 (a kind of robotic mule),

GARY ZABEL March 21, 2018

SEA LEVEL RISE IS JUST ONE OF BOSTON’S WORRIES

As Earth approaches several catastrophic global warming “tipping points” January 24, 2018 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS Before writing more columns examining Boston city government’s emerging plans to cope with the effects of global warming, I think a quick review of what area residents are likely to face in

JASON PRAMAS January 24, 2018

THE SEAPORT FLOOD IS JUST THE BEGINNING

Unless Boston builds proper defenses against global warming-driven sea level rise January 17, 2018 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS So, Boston’s Seaport District flooded early this month during a bad snowstorm in the midst of several days of arctic temperatures. And nobody could be less surprised than me.

JASON PRAMAS January 17, 2018

ON MAKERSPACES AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Making can be cool, but conscious making is cooler December 19, 2017 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS For many of us living in and around Boston in recent years, it has become common to see lots of communications from makerspaces around holiday time. Which is totally understandable. Such

JASON PRAMAS December 19, 2017

AUTONOMOUS PROFITEERING: CORPORATE NETWORKS ENLIST BOSTON TO HELP THEM SELL SELF-DRIVING CARS … AND ELIMINATE JOBS

September 18, 2016 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS When seemingly random things happen in city government, they’re always worth a second look. Which was certainly the case last week when Mayor Marty Walsh announced a new partnership between the City of Boston, the World Economic Forum, and the Boston Consulting Group to

JASON PRAMAS September 18, 2016

CABLE JEOPARDY

August 22, 2016 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS Now that broadband internet is a public utility, both cable companies and telephone companies need to pay for public access television — not try to defund it Last week, the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism (BINJ) was pleased to welcome the Alliance for Community Media

JASON PRAMAS August 22, 2016

GE BOSTON DEAL: THE MISSING MANUAL, PART 8

Photo by Jason Pramas. Copyright 2016 Jason Pramas. June 21, 2016 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS Problems with GE Fort Point arrangement show need for democratic economic development planning A new wrinkle surfaced earlier this month in the plan to use a big chunk of the $270 million in public aid and

JASON PRAMAS June 21, 2016

GE BOSTON DEAL: THE MISSING MANUAL, PART 7

May 11, 2016 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS General Electric tries to cheap out on cleaning up its PCB apocalypse on the Housatonic River In 1929, Swann Chemical Company began commercially producing polychlorinated biphenyls for industrial use as an electrical insulator and as a coolant. PCBs were immediately a huge success,

JASON PRAMAS May 11, 2016