David Orban

Social Network Paradoxes

Social networks are connecting over two billion people, soon hopefully all eight billion, and have changed the way we interact. We like to complain about them, but our positions are contradictory. We want connection limits to be lifted, but pretend that all the connections should be meaningful. Algorithmic newsfeeds appear arbitrary to us, but we […]

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Adventures in Seoul

Traveling to foreign countries, to experience their language and culture, the different ways of living, is accessible to an increasing number of people. My daughter Giordana is moving to Seoul, and I am with her to help her in the first steps along the road. Her adventures will be fascinating, she will make a lot

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Transhumanism

You are a transhuman. The very definition of the human condition is the necessity to adapt to change. In our current times the pace of change has accelerated, and technology is transforming our world, is transforming us ever more radically. If we didn’t change with technology, we would not survive. From cooking food with fire,

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The Workflow

When I started recording and airing The Context a few months ago, I didn’t very much know how the process would work. Yes, my team would help in the process, but it would not be clear who would do what exactly, and when. It took a lot of episodes, and persistence, to learn the steps,

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Island Ecosystems

The ecosystems of islands, whether biological or economical, allow for unprecedented experimentation, supported by their natural isolation. I’m in Malta, where Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain technologies are being actively supported by the local regulator, giving a clear platform, and sandboxes to try to see what works. Malta has a history of resilience, a small nation

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Digital Reality

Something amazing is happening: we are in the process of designing and deploying the tools that enable us to completely change how we define reality.  We are augmenting what we used to call reality and extending the limits of the possible. The physical reality around you used to be your village, maybe 20 kilometers in

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Computer Languages

Originally very close to the machine, now computer programming languages take advantage of multiple layers of abstraction and make developers very productive. Various approaches that reflect the needs of the time are developed and adopted. Object oriented programming, integrated development environments, testing and deployment suits. With time, through the decades, we’ve become able to produce

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Mental Health

We must be alert to each other, and make sure human relationships, augmented by technology, allow us to nurture our mental health. Talking about mental health must become as natural and widespread as talking about. Mental health is a delicate subject that we are not accustomed to address. There are a lot of biases around the

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Technology Adoption

The rate of technology adoption changes based on individual preferences and social norms. Accelerating and jolting technologies force an increasing rate of adoption, that put a pressure on individuals and societies to confront the limits that they imposed on themselves. But technology is so useful, that even those who hate it, use it. The precautionary

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Quantum Computing

Quantum computers have been under development for decades. Are they about to start delivering on their promise? Jolting technologies, where the acceleration is increasing, can burst onto the scene very suddenly. The quantum phenomena, on which the new architectures are based, needed a long time to be understood and applied. We are still in the

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