Commentary: Latest Reports from The Washington Posts ‘Innovation’

Disney loved its no-fly zone — until it wanted to fly its own drones

Florida pilots know the rule well — you better steer clear of Disney’s Magic Kingdom, or else. It has been a no-fly zone for over a decade – a luxury afforded to none of the other 400 theme parks in the United States, and a point of contention lingering over “The Happiest Place on Earth.” But […]

The many reasons to be excited about America’s future

Every 30 or 40 years, Americans become incredibly pessimistic. They begin to believe the nation is falling behind in competitiveness and innovation, that their children will not be as well off as they themselves have been, and that some other country will own the future.  They fear that the United States will go the way […]

If killer robots arrive, the Terminator will be the least of our problems

Autonomous weapons experts sounded the alarm last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, cautioning that unless governments act to limit these weapons’ risks, it may be too late. Autonomous weapons haven’t surfaced in the mainstream but loom on the horizon as the technology behind them is young, but rapidly advancing. Based on existing technology, the weapons […]

This photo of Mark Zuckerberg’s closet is literally the least surprising thing you’ll see all day
First day back after paternity leave. What should I wear? Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Monday, January 25, 2016 What are you wearing? That’s a question that’s tossed at chic celebrities strolling the red carpet. It’s also a question Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg will never get. After all, his wardrobe is 50 shades of gray, minus 49 of them. […]

Google just mastered a game that vexed scientists — and their machines — for decades

Artificial intelligence took a historic step forward Wednesday when a Google team announced that it taught a machine to master the ancient Chinese game Go, a feat researchers have chased for decades. While computers learned to outclass humans at checkers and chess in the ’90s, Go — a 2,500-year old game — was still vexing computer scientists. […]

What zebras and their mysterious stripes can teach innovators

With apologies to Silicon Valley’s animal of the moment — the unicorn — zebras are still a powerful symbol for some business gurus of how to stand out, how to be unique and how to differentiate a company or brand from the crowd. Zebra stripes are typically thought of as wild, daring and nonconformist — just […]

How Google may pull off drone deliveries without putting your dog at risk

Using drones to deliver packages to our yards has long piqued the interest of some consumers and tech companies as a way to speed a process that can take days to one that happens in minutes. But a new Google patent reveals that before the tech giant makes drone delivery a reality, it wants to solve the problem […]

Why Twitter’s best days may be behind it

Twitter is in a state of crisis. The stock has tanked since co-founder Jack Dorsey returned as chief executive. Four of 10 top executives just left. With takeover rumors swirling Dorsey must think outside the box and reinvent the one-time darling of social media. Twitter has stumbled into a mess that may be hard to break […]

The danger the FCC can’t see in its new video proposal

As futurist Paul Saffo says, “Never mistake a clear view for a short distance.”   It’s advice the Federal Communications Commission would do well to consider as it undertakes, once again, to restructure a dynamic media landscape already in the grasp of dramatic technological disruption and competitive upheaval, most of it entirely outside the agency’s […]

Dogs may have evolved to handle our bad tempers

Man’s best friend has a clear strategy for dealing with angry owners — look away. New research shows that dogs limit their eye contact with angry humans, even as they tend to stare down upset canines. The scientists suggest this may be an attempt to appease humans, that evolved as dogs were domesticated and benefited […]

How I realized the incredible impact that great bosses have

“I don’t care if you have to take drugs, you have to build it in six months,” said my boss, Khurshed Birdie, when I told him that he was on drugs if he thought my team could create a software development toolset in less than three years. This was in 1986 at Credit Suisse First […]

5 futuristic oddities from the weird world of wearable tech

When futurists first began to predict the merging of man and machine, they surely couldn’t have predicted this: wearable furniture. The Japanese-made Archelis is literally a wearable chair that surgeons can “wear” during long operating procedures. And there are more “wearable chairs” in the offing — Audi, for example, has partnered with Swiss start-up Noonee […]

A small, self-governing island may hand over its roads to self-driving cars

Phil Gawne, the transportation minister on the Isle of Man, is working 16-hour days on two projects rooted in radically different eras. First, he’s trying to salvage the island’s horse-drawn carriages that date to 1876. At the same time, Gawne is leading a project to potentially lure companies that make fully self-driving cars, vehicles without steering wheels […]

Tesla won’t give this ‘super rude’ customer his preordered car

The customer is always right, goes the saying. But if you’re rude, don’t expect that maxim to apply universally as one man found out. Earlier this week Stewart Alsop, a San Francisco venture capitalist, shared that his order of a Tesla Model X was canceled after he wrote a blog post that criticized chief executive Elon Musk for […]

How Microsoft’s HoloLens will change the way we view football

If Microsoft was looking to remind us that they’re partners with the NFL, and that the HoloLens is still a thing, then they certainly have succeeded. Their newly released video, “Imagining the future for NFL fans,” showcased what interactive holograms can do for the football viewing experience. The video details several key features, including access […]

How a Seattle suburb wooed Google’s self-driving cars to town

Tuesday was a celebratory day in the Kirkland, Wash. government offices. After years of expressing interest, the Seattle suburb received word that Google would begin testing a self-driving vehicle on its streets. “I’ve been pitching them for four years to pilot the car here,” said city manager Kurt Triplett. “We were thrilled. Our council was […]

College is the new cable bundle. Do students deserve a ‘Netflix’?

College has a lot in common with your cable TV package, according to Michael Horn, a principal consultant at innovation agency Entangled Solutions. As schools plow money into new dorms, administrative costs and sports stadiums, some students find themselves paying for “channels” they have no use for. Horn is co-chairing a new group to make “cutting the cord” a viable option for students who […]

This robot didn’t even use the right club and still got a hole-in-one

Two months after it first held a golf club, LDRIC — pronounced Eldrick — can already hit shots most golfers only dream of. The robot turned heads Wednesday at the Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Ariz. with a hole-in-one on the 16th hole, defying his co-creator’s expectations. “If I got close I was going to be […]