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These 7 items make working remotely more efficient and effective

Workers are adjusting to their new employment reality on couches and kitchen tables across the nation.

  • Spotify, Twitter, and Square all announced employees will work from home until at least 2021, perhaps indefinitely.
  • The pandemic just accelerated the process: 50% of American employees were expected to work remotely by 2028.
  • Workers are adjusting to their new employment reality on couches and kitchen tables across the nation.
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    Does conscious AI deserve rights?

    If machines develop consciousness, or if we manage to give it to them, the human-robot dynamic will forever be different.

    • Does AI—and, more specifically, conscious AI—deserve moral rights? In this thought exploration, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, ethics and tech professor Joanna Bryson, philosopher and cognitive scientist Susan Schneider, physicist Max Tegmark, philosopher Peter Singer, and bioethicist Glenn Cohen all weigh in on the question of AI rights.
    • Given the grave tragedy of slavery throughout human history, philosophers and technologists must answer this question ahead of technological development to avoid humanity creating a slave class of conscious beings.
    • One potential safeguard against that? Regulation. Once we define the context in which AI requires rights, the simplest solution may be to not build that thing.

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    What is the viewing experience of VR porn really like?

    Recent studies suggest virtual reality porn can produce a more positive experience than viewing from a monitor or screen.

    Image by Andrush on Shutterstock
    • Since early 2014 when Ela Darling, an adult entertainment actress recorded her first VR performance, the world of virtual porn has taken off.
    • Recent studies suggests VR porn produces a more positive experience than typical porn viewing through a monitor or screen.
    • RealityLovers, a top VR porn website, speaks about the benefits of virtual reality porn experiences and the future of VR adult entertainment.
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    Is AI a species-level threat to humanity?

    Some of the world's top minds weigh in on one of the most divisive questions in tech.

    • When it comes to the question of whether AI is an existential threat to the human species, you have Elon Musk in one corner, Steven Pinker in another, and a host of incredible minds somewhere in between.
    • In this video, a handful of those great minds—Elon Musk, Steven Pinker, Michio Kaku, Max Tegmark, Luis Perez-Breva, Joscha Bach and Sophia the Robot herself—weigh in on the many nuances of the debate and the degree to which AI is a threat to humanity; if it's not a species-level threat, it will still upend our world as we know it.
    • What's your take on this debate? Let us know in the comments!
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    What should schools teach? Now is the moment to ask.

    The future of learning will be different, and now is the time to lay the groundwork.

    • The coronavirus pandemic has left many at an interesting crossroads in terms of mapping out the future of their respective fields and industries. For schools, that may mean a total shift not only in how educators teach, but what they teach.
    • One important strategy moving forward, thought leader Caroline Hill says, is to push back against the idea that getting ahead is more important than getting along. "The opportunity that education has in this moment to really push students and think about what is the right way to live, how do we do it and how do we do it in a way that doesn't hurt or rob the dignity of other people?"
    • Hill also argues that now is the time for bigger swings and for removing the barriers that limit education. The online space is boundary free and provides educators with new opportunities to connect with students around the world.
    Read more from Z-17's interview with Caroline Hill on Medium.
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