The Listener Will See You Now

Ambient AI now records the conversation at the hospital bed and the exam table. The microphone is optional, for the moment. The receptionist slid a tablet across the counter and asked, in the bright tone reserved for upgrades, whether I would consent to let the clinic “AI Listen” to the appointment. Percy and Lotty, The Boles Brits, were already complaining inside their carrier, due for the rabies shots the state requires. The pitch was efficiency. The software would listen to my conversation with the veterinarian, transcribe it, and “ambient scribe” the care notes so the doctor could spend less time typing and more time with the animals. I declined. There was a checkbox for that, which I noted with the small relief of a man who has read the next paragraph before signing the first.

Continue reading → The Listener Will See You Now

Notes on Tomorrow as Tribute

The book is out. The title is Tomorrow as Tribute: The Politics of the Burnt Future. It is available in paperback, in Kindle, and as a free web edition through David Boles Books. The audiobook is in production with narrator selection underway. The web edition is free because I want the argument to circulate as widely as possible.

Continue reading → Notes on Tomorrow as Tribute

Cedar Needles Fight MRSA

MRSA is a deadly SuperBug and the University of Missouri has found a smart way to fight that sort of deadly methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: Cedar Needles.  MRSA is on the rise. Thirty years ago, staph MRSA infections were at 3%. In 2003, that number rose to 64%. Since 2005, almost 19,000 people in the USA died from MRSA complications.

Continue reading → Cedar Needles Fight MRSA