Big Ideas Forum

Genetically Modified Organisms, or GMOs, have become part of our everyday life, mostly in food products. And they seem to become more and more widely used.   [Read More]

Virtual Reality (or in its more advanced form, Augmented Reality (AR)) is a field within AI which aim at presenting 3D visual inputs in such a realistic way that the viewer feels like they are “there.” It has a huge application already in the entertainment industry, and it has huge potential in remaking education, in bringing us to places we would never be able to go (Mt. Everest or Mars), and even in bringing news from around the world to us–not on a TV but on VR glasses–as real as if were eye witnesses ourselves. [Read More]

What is the role of Bitcoin and similar cryptocurrencies in our future? And (by the way) what is Bitcoin? Is Bitcoin technology simply an unstable financial vehicle intended for clandestine or illicit commerce, or does it have broader economic application? [Read More]

Most of us use the internet daily without realizing we are able to access only a very small part of online information and websites. [Read More]

Human Trafficking is the third largest criminal endeavor in the world. Despite more than 30 million people losing their identities and freedom, law enforcement has been unable to halt this insidious disease. Those who are trafficked are forced into prostitution, unpaid labor and villainous behavior. [Read More]

This week’s discussion concerns the economic, social, ethical, and public safety challenges related to our ever-increasing advances in robotics and artificial intelligence. Autonomous and non-autonomous robots have the potential to bring about a lot of good for society (caring for the sick and elderly, enabling the disabled, increasing our lifespans and allowing a surgeon to perform surgery from a distance to name just a few) but many of us fear that without adequate control, these machines can pose a threat not just to our livelihoods but to our species. Come see some of the latest advances in robotic technology and... [Read More]