What’s In This Issue?
This Week’s Main Stories
Story 01Smithsonian Makes A New Hire: Pepper The Robot
Story 02New "Pollution Pod" Lets You Sample The Pollution Of Megacities
Story 03McDonald's Opens Location WIth Menu Items From Around The Globe
Story 04Xiaomi Goes Anti-Apple, Shares Profits Instead Of Fleecing CustomersEven More Stories
- SmugMug Buys Flickr: Can They Help It Regain Its Lost Glory?
- Sweden Launches Electric Road That Charges Your Car While You Drive
- How a New Afrocentric Movement Is Making Luxury Retail More Inclusive
- New Delivery Service In Singapore Offers Packaging-Free Groceries
- Ford To Stop Selling Every Car In US Except Mustang and Focus Active
- "Game Of War" Director Emotionally Reads Reviews Online
Smithsonian Makes A New Hire: Pepper The Robot
How can you encourage more widespread acceptance of robots with personality? If you're SoftBank, maker of the robot named Pepper, you strategically donate 25 "humanoid units" as part of a high-visibility pilot program with the Smithsonian to see how masses of tourists coming to the nations capital during the busy summer season will react. Skepticism is high, thanks in part to the now infamously suicidal security guard robot that tried to drown itself in a fountain, but we'll need more programs like this if we're ever going to help people learn to communicate better with robots. And to help the robots improve their ability to communicate with us as well.
New "Pollution Pod" Lets You Sample The Pollution Of Megacities
If you ever wondered what it's like to breathe in the air of famously polluted cities like New Delhi or Beijing, this virtual exhibit put up in the UK by artist Michael Pinksy can give you a taste ... literally. These so-called Pollution Pods "replicate foreign air quality and their relative levels of ozone, particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide." To balance the experience as a contrast, visiitors can also breathe the comparatively pure air of the Tautra Island in Norway. In a powerful piece of symbolism, each unique dome is also interconnected with the others "to demonstrate that these cities are interconnected by the toll of global capitalist consumerism." It is the best kind of purposeful art, and something I really hope to see become a traveling exhibit like The Compassion Experience to bring this perfect example of Virtual Empathy to even more people.
McDonald's Opens Location WIth Menu Items From Around The Globe
The McDonald's you've been waiting for is finally here. Ok, maybe that's an exaggeration ... but if you've ever walked into a McDonald's in another country and thought "that looks so much better than what WE have," then you'll appreciate this news. A new location in Chicago's West Loop will be the only place in America where you can get treats like Cheese & Bacon Loaded Fries from Australia or the McFlurry Prestígio from Brazil. When I'm in Chicago next month, maybe they'll even add the McSpicy Paneer Burger to the menu, and then this idea will officially be the best thing McDonald's has ever done.
Xiaomi Goes Anti-Apple, Shares Profits Instead Of Fleecing Customers
There are some companies that use every opportunity they can to make money off of their customers and maximize their margins. Then there is Xiaomi. The fast growing Chinese smartphone maker made the unusual announcement this week that "it will forever limit to just five percent the net profit margins after tax for smartphones, smart home devices and other hardware." If they make more money than planned over a calendar year, they promise to find a way to give the money back to their users. In the electronics industry, this type of declaration is rare and should be celebrated widely.
