Oct 3, 2013 | 23:39Spark Against the Smart City AudioSpark Against the Smart City Oct 3, 2013 | 23:39Nora Young interviews urbanist Adam Greenfield about his new pamphlet "Against the smart city." In it, Greenfield argues that there is a "deep conceptual problem with the smart city at virtually every level."
Sep 27, 2013 | 9:29Spark Soldiers and A.I. AudioSpark Soldiers and A.I. Sep 27, 2013 | 9:29Julie Carpenter studies how military personnel interact with the field robots they use they use in bomb disposal. Although they recognize them as tools, soldiers still like to name their robots, and some also see them as extensions of themselves.
Sep 27, 2013 | 7:23Spark The Beauty of Glitch Art AudioSpark The Beauty of Glitch Art Sep 27, 2013 | 7:23When your phone's screen goes black, or a DVD you're watching suddenly pixelates and freezes, it can be really frustrating, but glitch artist Phil Stearns sees the beauty in malfunction.
Sep 27, 2013 | 10:52Spark Falling in Love with A.I. AudioSpark Falling in Love with A.I. Sep 27, 2013 | 10:52In the upcoming movie Her, a guy falls in love with his operating system. Sure, it helps it's the voice of Scarlett Johansson, but STILL. Brian Christian on whether it's possible to actually fall in love with artificial intelligence.
Sep 27, 2013 | 19:04Spark Context-aware Computing AudioSpark Context-aware Computing Sep 27, 2013 | 19:04As our relationship with computers becomes more and more personalized, it's not a leap to think of our technologies as personal assistants. Hossein Rahnama and Saul Greenberg on the challenges to making context-aware computing work.
Sep 20, 2013 | 7:57Spark Ambient Noise in the Workplace AudioSpark Ambient Noise in the Workplace Sep 20, 2013 | 7:57Research suggesting that the right amount of noise at work can enhance creativity, sparked a website called Coffitivity, that provides a steady stream of ambient coffee shop sound. Sound expert Julian Treasure on how ambient noise helps us work.
Sep 20, 2013 | 11:32Spark Autonomous Cars (Part 1) AudioSpark Autonomous Cars (Part 1) Sep 20, 2013 | 11:32A primer on autonomous cars, followed by Toyota's James Pisz, on why fully autonomous cars won't be mainstream for at least a generation, until we overcome social hurdles like trust.