Category: Tech

Screens are lifesavers right now, but they’re still relationship wreckers

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Digital technology has been a lifeline during the COVID-19 health crisis. Yet, its impact on human relationships remains complex. It allows for work and connection in many domains, but does so in ways that are often intrusive , exhausting, and potentially corrosive to face-to-face relationships. The debate about technology’s effect on overall mental health rages on. Some researchers claim smartphones have destroyed a generation , while others argue screen time doesn’t predict mental health at all. After years of research on the topic , I have come to the conclusion that screen time can disrupt a fundamental aspect of our human experience — paying attention to one another’s eyes . Smartphones, even more than older technologies like television, have been aggressively designed to control and capitalize human attention throughout the day by drawing people’s fingers and eyes down to a screen and away from one another. Increasingly, people can’t look away. It’s all in the eyes Human beings are unique among animals— including closely related primates — in our ability to share meaning and collaborate on goals through the coordination of eye gaze. From the earliest days of life, babies tune into their caregivers’ eyes to find comfort and decipher emotion. As they grow , people build on these skills and learn to lock eyes with social partners to communicate and collaborate. The whites around human eyes are large, making them highly visible to partners. The result is humans are able to track the direction of each other’s gaze with exquisite accuracy. Some argue this evolutionary adaptation was fundamental to Homo sapiens ‘ advancement as a species . Read More …

Due to coronavirus, you could be voting by mail much sooner than expected

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The two most consequential occurrences in American society in almost two decades—coronavirus and the 2020 election’s referendum on Trumpism—may well be headed for a collision course in November, with the potential to seriously imperil the voting process. Some states have announced that they will postpone their primary elections, and election officials are already fretting about November. By and large, we do elections only one way in the U.S.: while some people mail in ballots, the vast majority cast their votes at a polling place. That simply might not be possible in 2020 Read More …

Amazon is selling its no-checkout tech to other stores, and we have questions

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After two years of running its own cashierless “ Amazon Go ” stores, Amazon now wants other retailers to start using the tech. The “ Just Walk Out ” service, which launched this week, lets retailers equip their stores with cameras, weight sensors, and other technology to detect what people grab from the shelves. Shoppers scan a credit card when they enter the store, and the system automatically bills them for each item when they exit, with an optional kiosk allowing them to enter an email address for receipts. It’s unclear what size of stores Amazon is targeting, but the company says it’s ideal for places where customers are in a rush and have long lines. The company told Reuters that it has “several” unnamed retail customers on board already. If Just Walk Out takes off, it could upend the entire brick-and-mortar retail system even without shifting ever-greater amounts of shopping online . Yet in announcing the new program, Amazon has chosen not to discuss many fundamental issues, such as how it’ll affect jobs and what it will do with all the data it collects. The company declined to answer most questions for this story, instead referring to a brief question-and-answer section on its website . Will Just Walk Out stores accept cash? Although Amazon says it can retrofit existing stores with its tech, the company isn’t saying whether those stores could (or should) continue to accept cash Read More …

The Hims of sleep? DTC brand reimagines snooze supplements

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It’s no secret that Americans don’t sleep enough, with n early a third of adults getting less than six hours of shut-eye per night. The CDC declared sleep a public health epidemic, spurring Silicon Valley to create a host of gadgets, robots , and even luxe homes to lull the restless back to bed. But many still rely on sleep aids such as Ambien or Xanax, which often have problematic side effects and result in dependence issues. The more health-conscious opt for more natural remedies like melatonin supplements, although it doesn’t work for everyone. To that end, newly launched Remrise hopes to embody a fully holistic sleep company that combines personalized supplements with tech. The company sells $55-per month subscriptions, which include plant-based sleep aids accompanied by a suite of digital tools: an online educational platform and a meditation app that connects to Fitbit, Oura, and other tracking devices. The startup secured over $8 million in funding led by Founders Fund and cofounding investor Atomic, the incubator behind millennial-friendly supplement unicorn Hims Read More …