Free Republic

"Net neutrality has a nice ring to it. Who doesn’t want an even playing field? But the internet evolved rapidly in a deregulated environment. And most of its trappings—a lack of censorship, equal access, tremendous diversity of viewpoint, an alternative means of accessing media, and deep stores of information—evolved before net neutrality was a legal mandate. After numerous attempts at congressional action failed to result in new laws, the Federal Communications Commission in 2015 adopted net neutrality rules in under the leadership of Obama appointee Tom Wheeler. Now, under chairman Ajit Pai—a Trump appointee—net neutrality is at risk, as its...

Companies today are strategizing about future investments and technologies such as artificial intelligence, the internet of things, or growth around new business models. While many of these trends will make for solid investments for the next 5-10 years, fewer companies are considering the revolutionary convergence of disparate trends pulled from technology, behavioral and societal changes, and medical advances to understand how they will converge to transform society. This transformation will be messy, complex, and sometimes scary, but signals already point to a future of humanity that will blur our identities into “transhumanism.” A few of the trends that emerged from...

As college students and recent grads head home for the holidays, first on their minds are friends and family. But the end-of-year downtime is also a good opportunity for career reflection. And while salary should never be the only factor in a career decision, it often ranks high in our consideration set. Careers site Comparably released a list of six entry-level jobs that pay more than $90,000. Entry-level was defined as workers with up to three years’ experience. To create the ranking, Comparably analyzed more than 19,000 anonymous salary reports submitted between March 2016 and October 2017 by employees of...

New forensic DNA analysis that can create an eerily accurate image of an unknown individual helped cops in Texas solve a year-old murder mystery. Ryan Riggs, 21, is charged with capital murder for the killing of Chantay Blankinship, 25, in May 2016. The man gave confessions to his local church and the Brown County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday after predictive DNA imaging released Nov. 8 breathed new life into law enforcement’s investigation.

For the last decade, the 3D printing sector has been dominated by closed systems, in which 3D printers could only be used with the manufacturer’s resin and software. The trouble with closed systems is that they limit innovation. One printer manufacturer alone cannot offer the variety of materials needed for the thousands of potential 3D printing applications. As a result, the development of new end-user applications and materials has stalled, and growth in 3D printing has plateaued. To break out, the industry must reinvent itself and become open. There has been progress in that direction. Players from adjacent industries have...

The Age of Sex Robots is upon us. Numerous science fiction authors, with a degree of jittery anticipation, have predicted this development for years. Yet it has not seemed feasible until recently. The New York Times just ran a substantial profile on the impending rise of virtual reality porn and sex robots, and stirrings of anxious excitement are palpable in other media outlets. A strange and terrible new world is dawning, but let’s not cue up “Also Sprach Zarathustra” quite yet. Far from being a boon dispensed from on high, the impending sex robot revolution threatens to destroy our entire...

A few weeks ago on “The Next Revolution” on Fox News Channel, we debated the impact of technology on children. My guest, Dr. Jean Twenge, shared shocking research from her latest book, which has a rather wonderful title: “iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy – and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood.” According to Twenge – and her research is backed up by numerous other studies – the use of smartphones is changing childhood in fundamental and deeply negative ways. I wanted to talk to her about this topic because it’s one that I’ve...

The Russian military announced on Oct. 30, 2017 that it will begin acquiring the Nerekhta — a ground-combat robot armed with a slew of remotely-operated weapons such as machine guns and rocket launchers. Col. Oleg Pomazuev, the head of the Russian Ministry of Defense’s Department of Innovation Research, said the Nerekhtas “managed to prove themselves well at the Alabino testing ground,” and that the robots exceeded manned combat vehicles “in a number of parameters.” The spartan-looking, mid-sized Nerekhta comes in three varieties — combat, transport and artillery reconnaissance – and can be equipped with a 12.7-millimeter or 7.62-millimeter machine...

If you're tired of the dysfunction in Washington -- the backbiting, the questioning of motives, the failure to agree on much of anything, the one-upmanship, the allegations about a "stolen" presidential election, Russian "collusion," the posturing and boorish behavior -- how about focusing on something that is working and benefits a growing number of people? Consider a company called Teladoc, which provides access to a doctor through a computer screen, telephone, or mobile app. The waiting time, a company official tells me, is between eight and ten minutes. That beats any doctor's office I have ever been in, even with...

Since Christ first promised His disciples He would return, Christians have wondered if their generation is the one that would witness the fulfillment of that promise. And probably every generation since has thought itself to be the last generation, basing their belief on the perceived or actual declining moral standards of society in their day. Yet for all the speculation and hearsay, only one generation can be the final generation, and all the evidence points to ours. For centuries, Christians have used anecdotal evidence, such as "things have never been so bad" or "look at all the evil in the...

Turning to the future, Brown said technological change and the development of artificial intelligence would transform the concept of the divine. "We will start to find our spiritual experiences through our interconnections with each other," he said, forecasting the emergence of "some form of global consciousness that we perceive and that becomes our divine". "Our need for that exterior god, that sits up there and judges us ... will diminish and eventually disappear."

Bashing Christopher Columbus has long been de rigueur among the liberal elite. Today, it has infiltrated our nation’s classrooms and poisons our public discourse. You know the mantra: Columbus was a greedy and egomaniacal villain who brought slavery, disease, “genocide,” and ecological ruin to a previously undisturbed land. Rather than honor this legacy of “hate,” the argument goes, Americans should celebrate the peaceful indigenous peoples who populated this hemisphere long before their lands were stolen by European explorers. The war against Columbus is cloaked in the lexicon of “diversity” and the rhetoric of “inclusion.” But what many of its foot...

Tocsin is in the air. The North Korean representative to the U.N. said President Trump’s recent speech was tantamount to a declaration of war. While this kind of verbal saber-rattling has occurred in the past, it is worth asking whether U.S. forces have the technological superiority to thwart any potential foe and the nuclear superiority to deter a “first strike.” While the U.S. still enjoys some technological advantages over potential adversaries, that advantage is declining at a rapid rate. A 2014 study noted that “The diffusion of advanced military technology and the means to manufacture it have accelerated. Capabilities in...

One of the huge problems in fighting asymmetric wars such as America has been doing now for decades is that the advantage a major power has in expensive, sophisticated weaponry can be negated in seconds with an inexpensive, primitive weapon, with the rocket-propelled grenade being the classic example.  RPGs have taken out everything from helicopters to heavy tanks.  Now,  according to Global Security.org, the Army is doing something about it by doing a test refitting its main battle tank, the M1A2 Abrams, with a new advanced Israeli defensive system. The US military will be installing the Israeli-built Trophy Active...

Apple is perceived by technology professionals to be the “most technologically advanced’’ company worldwide, according to a September survey by Decision Analyst, a leading marketing research and analytical consulting firm. Decision Analyst recently surveyed more than 1,000 technology professionals worldwide — a group that includes engineers, scientists, computer programmers, and other technology executives. Survey participants were shown a list of 68 leading technology companies and asked to choose the five ‘most technologically advanced’ companies. As the chart below shows, Apple was chosen by a higher percentage (46.9%) of technology professionals than any other company. The perception of Apple as the...

A smartphone app designed to help migrants safely move through countries is being tested in Central America and Mexico starting this week ahead of a wider roll-out elsewhere in the world, the UN Migration Agency said Friday. “MigrantApp” offers information in English, Spanish and French on safety, health, accommodation and organizations offering assistance. Its launch comes at a time when the United States is making undocumented immigration far more difficult, while ending programs that had eased the entry and residence of certain migrants. Much of the U.S. attention is directed at Mexicans and Central Americans who make up the largest...

Concerned that its citizens might be using too much toilet paper, the government of China is installing facial recognition technology in its public restrooms. If the same person tries to obtain more than his or her allotted four squares of toilet tissue per visit the computer will recognize the face and withhold any additional paper. Chinese Minister of Public Facilities Hu Du Dung explained that "four squares is an adequate amount for any socially responsible person. It is four times the amount the Japanese allowed to their POWs during World War II. Any attempt to use more is theft from...

Lockheed Martin has successfully tested a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 surface-to-air-missile against a tactical ballistic missile from a remote launcher. Sept. 22 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin has successfully tested a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 surface-to-air-missile against a tactical ballistic missile from a remote launcher. The test was conducted by the U.S. Army at Reagan Test Site at the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The PAC-3 Missile Enhancement Segment ballistic missile defense system was launched from a remotely controlled launcher, as opposed to a manned system. "PAC-3 continues to be successful against today's evolving threats, and it remains the only combat proven...

Planned Parenthood of Northern New England along with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging a provision of a Maine law that says abortions can only be performed by physicians.The ACLU claims that the law “significantly restricts patient access to abortion services in Maine, and prevents some Maine women from receiving an abortion from their regular primary and gynecological care provider,” and “blocks qualified nurse practitioners and nurse-midwives (also known as advanced practice registered nurses, or APRNs) from doing so, despite their rigorous post-graduate training and extensive clinical experience.”“Today, while medication abortion is available via telemedicine...

Dive Brief: The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has awarded Jacobs Engineering Group a 10-year, multimillion dollar contract to design an active traffic management (ATM) system for Interstate 76 through Philadelphia, according to Traffic Technology Today. Jacobs' services for the Schuylkill Expressway will include preliminary and system engineering, design, analysis of alternatives, right-of-way acquisition and construction consultancy.The final ATM system could include occasional use of the shoulder, connected vehicle technology, variable speed limit signage and traffic jam detection and alerts. PennDOT could also implement features like ramp metering, junction control, dynamic lane assignments, and multimodal strategies in tandem with shoulder use....