Showing 1 - 10 of 19
AI will overpromise and underdeliver
Life, James Hein, Published on 27/08/2025
» Let's start with a few brief comments on the current state of artificial intelligence. Specially targeted and trained AI models are improving. These are things like detecting something in an X-ray or hunting for potential chemical candidates for a compound to attack a specific condition. Generating pictures and videos is also improving rapidly, and by the end of the year the majority of people will not be able to tell the difference between the real thing and the AI fake. Large Language Models are still unpredictable and can give false or fake answers depending on the structure of the prompts, so be careful with the answer you get from these. The current corporate buy-in for AI is well beyond what it can deliver. This is driven by marketing, not the actual state of capabilities. My prediction is there will be a lot of out-of-pocket organisations of all types disappointed by results.
Reclaiming motherhood
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 19/08/2025
» A woman slowly grows into a mother over time. It is a full-time job that never ends until the lights go out. After nine months of pregnancy, she nurtures her child for years until adulthood. Her reward? It is said that the child is the apple of her eye. It is expected for a woman to sacrifice her body, career and everything for this role.
A capitalist nightmare
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 25/07/2025
» Thump thump bump. Netflix's psychological thriller Wall To Wall envisions a dystopian contemporary South Korea. It is a cautionary tale of late-stage capitalist society fraught with economic volatility, mental breakdowns and class divide.
The rise of Thai art
Life, Suwitcha Chaiyong, Published on 29/01/2025
» When Christie's -- a renowned auction house -- began its operation in Bangkok in 1998, some 90% of its revenue came from selling luxury items and 10% from artwork as there were few art collectors at the time. Back then, Christie's aimed to auction state assets following the Tom Yum Kung economic crisis.
Microsoft stock booming on AI run
Life, James Hein, Published on 07/06/2023
» It's not a good time to be working for Microsoft, but it is a good time to be a shareholder or executive. Stock is up over 30%, net income is up and the CEO Satya Nadella got a nice 10% raise. Regular workers received no pay rise, or effectively a 5% pay cut due to inflation. Microsoft has rationalised it as pat and generic reasons like a "competitive environment" and the "global macroeconomic uncertainties". In reality, Microsoft is using the money to jump into the AI wave through a multibillion-dollar partnership with OpenAI.
Up to code
Life, Noko, Published on 13/01/2023
» In the digital age, scanning a QR code with a mobile phone has become an everyday thing.
Free speech and pedestrian blues
Life, James Hein, Published on 21/12/2022
» Let's take a look at my predictions for 2022, a mixed year for technology. How did I do? Virtual reality didn't advance as much as I'd hoped. Artificial intelligence made some incremental games including as I pointed out in an earlier article, for music producers. The Neuralink interface did improve this year, if indeed that is something you're interested in, but still not available for broad human use. I also was wrong on cryptocurrency. With the FTX exposure the private firms took a hit, but governments have started to get interested in the technology. The world is poised for a crypto explosion, but not this year.
Buzzing with creativity
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 13/12/2022
» The eighth edition of Chiang Mai Design Week, a nine-day cultural festival that wrapped up last week, was a manifesto of the melting pot that is this northern province. At an out-of-use warehouse in Chang Moi, a group of local artists who took part in a homecoming project exhibited objects from their neighbourhoods in the style of Renaissance curiosity. Here, Achariyar Rojanapirom and Ratthee Phaisanchotsiri curated personal items from their cupboard, including a bowl of stir-fried salted chilli from a nam ngiao shop in the old town, to show how they remain contemporary.
Crypto creeps strike again
Life, Patcharawalai Sanyanusin, Published on 12/09/2022
» 'All investments carry some degree of risk." This is a classic statement that investors should bear in mind before engaging in any financial investment.
Cool gadget for artists
Life, Komsan Jandamit, Published on 24/08/2022
» I personally have never found tablets fitting my daily needs. But, with this HUAWEI MatePad Pro 11-inch's big screen, light & compact body, multitasking & stylus capability, I can easily see this as an invaluable tool for artists and investors.