Climate controlled storage – Page 15

Words of Wisdom, Source Unknown

Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, died a billionaire at the age of 56 in 2011. Four years later, the essay below began circulating on the internet with the claim that it represented Jobs’ deathbed speech.

There is no verification that Jobs ever spoke or wrote the words in this essay. In fact his sister says his final words were “Oh Wow, Oh Wow, Oh Wow.”

But whoever did pen the essay below, gave all of us plenty of food for thought.

Here’s the essay:

I reached the pinnacle of success in the business world. In others’ eyes, my life is an epitome of success.

However, aside from work, I have little joy. In the end, wealth is only a fact of life that I am accustomed to.

At this moment, lying on the sick bed and recalling my whole life, I realize that all the recognition and wealth that I took so much pride in, have paled and become meaningless in the face of impending death.

In the darkness, I look at the green lights from the life supporting machines and hear the humming mechanical sounds, I can feel the breath of god of death drawing closer.

Now I know, when we have accumulated sufficient wealth to last our lifetime, we should pursue other matters that are unrelated to wealth.

Should be something that is more important. – Perhaps relationships, perhaps art, perhaps a dream from younger days

Non-stop pursuing of wealth will only turn a person into a twisted being, just like me.

God gave us the senses to let us feel the love in everyone’s heart, not the illusions brought about by wealth.

The wealth I have won in my life I cannot bring with me. What I can bring is only the memories precipitated by love.

That’s the true riches which will follow you, accompany you, giving you strength and light to go on.

Love can travel a thousand miles. Life has no limit. Go where you want to go. Reach the height you want to reach. It is all in your heart and in your hands.

What is the most expensive bed in the world? – Sick bed.

You can employ someone to drive the car for you, make money for you but you cannot have someone to bear the sickness for you.

Material things lost can be found. But there is one thing that can never be found when it is lost — Life.

When a person goes into the operating room, he will realize that there is one book that he has yet to finish reading — Book of Healthy Life.

Whichever stage in life we are at right now, with time, we will face the day when the curtain comes down.

Treasure love for your family, love for your spouse, love for your friends.

Treat yourself well. Cherish others.

Price of ’12 Days of Christmas’ Gifts

Have an extra $35,000 or so sitting around? Terrific! You have enough to purchase each of the whimsical items in the “12 Days of Christmas” song.

PNC Financial Services Group has done the research for the 34th year to provide a rundown of the cost of all 12 days of gifts. The bottom line, you can buy them all in stores for $34,558.65 (US dollars) or online for $45,096. Online costs more largely due to travel and shipping costs. This covers the cost of buying each gift once. However, if you include the cost of all the repetition throughout the carol, it would cost $157,558 in-store or $204,848.65 online.

To put that in perspective, “The PNC Christmas Price Index predicts true loves will be on their merry way to a more robust and satisfying holiday shopping season this year,” PNC said in a news release.
The slight increase of .6 percent from last year was mostly due to higher prices for the pear tree, increased demand for golden rings and wage increases for the Lords-a-Leaping.

Here’s the breakdown of each item:
DAY 1. A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE: In-store price: $219.95, online price: $269.00.
DAY 2. TWO TURTLE DOVES: In-store price: $20.00, online price: $ 95.00.
DAY 3. THREE FRENCH HENS: In-store price: $181.50, online price: $281.50.
DAY 4. FOUR CALLING BIRDS: In-store price: $599.96, online price: $370.00.
DAY 5: FIVE GOLD RINGS: In-store price: $825.00, online price: $899.75.
DAY 6: SIX GEESE-A-LAYING: In-store price: $360.00, online price: $1,488.00.
DAY 7: SEVEN SWANS-A-SWIMMING: In-store price: $ 13,125.00, online price: $ 15,165.00.
DAY 8: EIGHT MAIDS-A-MILKING: In-store price: $58.00, online price: $377.28.
DAY 9: NINE LADIES DANCING: In-store price: $7,552.84, online price: $8,322.55.
DAY 10: TEN LORDS-A-LEAPING: In-store price: $5,618.90, online price: $13,373.35.
DAY 11: ELEVEN PIPERS PIPING: In-store price: $2,708.40, online price: $2,475.00.
DAY 12: TWELVE DRUMMERS DRUMMING: In-store price: $2,934.10, online price: $1,620.00.

For Some, It’s SAD Season

Some folks are deeply affected by the change in seasons. Enough that they may be suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder. SAD is a type of depression that begins and ends about the same time every year, with symptoms often starting in the fall and continuing into the winter months. Tjhe disorder saps your energy and makes you feel moody. Sometimes, though less often, SAD causes depression in the spring or early summer.

Treatment for SAD may include light therapy (phototherapy), medications and psychotherapy. In addition to professional medical treatment, there are lifestyle and home remedies that may help. Make your environment sunnier and brighter. Open the blinds, trim tree branches that block sunlight or add skylights to your home. Sit closer to bright windows while at home or in the office. Get outdoors. Take long walks, eat lunch at a nearby park or simply sit on a bench and soak up the sun. Even on cold or cloudy days, outdoor light can help – especially if you spend some time outside within two hours of getting up in the morning.
Exercise regularly. Exercise and other types of physical activity help relieve stress and anxiety, both of which can increase SAD symptoms. Being more fit can make you feel better about yourself, too, which can lift your mood.

Signs and symptoms of SAD may include feeling depressed most of the day, losing interest in activities you once enjoyed, having low energy, having problems with sleeping and experiencing changes in your appetite or weight. You also might feel sluggish or agitated, have difficulty concentrating, think frequently of death or suicide or feel hopeless, worthless or guilty.

It’s normal to have some days when you feel down. But if you feel down for days at a time and you can’t get motivated to do activities you normally enjoy, see your doctor. This is especially important if your sleep patterns and appetite have changed, you turn to alcohol for comfort or relaxation, or you feel hopeless or think about suicide.

Dog Owners Live Longer, Healthier Lives

A new study of more than 3.4 million people finds that owning a dog is linked to a longer life. The research, published in Scientific Reports, is the latest in a growing body of research suggesting that canine companions may be good for human health—especially for people who live alone.

To study the link between dogs and longevity, researchers at Sweden’s Uppsala University reviewed national registry records of Swedish men and women, ages 40 to 80. They focused on 3.4 million people who had no history of cardiovascular disease in 2001, and followed their health records – as well as whether they registered as a dog owner – for about 12 years. Dog ownership registries are mandatory in Sweden, and every visit to a hospital is recorded in a national database.

Researchers found that dog owners had a lower risk of death due to cardiovascular disease than people who did not report owning a dog, as well as a lower risk of death from other causes. That was true even after adjusting for factors such as smoking, body mass index and socioeconomic status.

The protective effect was especially prominent for people living alone, who have been found to have a higher risk for early death than those who live with other people. People who lived alone with a dog had a 33% reduced risk of death, and an 11% reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, than people who lived alone without a dog.

The study – with a sample size hundreds of times larger than any other studies on this topic – was not designed to show a cause-and-effect relationship between dog ownership and reduced risk of death or cardiovascular disease, or to determine why these factors may be related. It’s possible that people who choose to own dogs may simply be more active and in better health to begin with, say the authors.

But it’s also possible – and very likely, says senior author Tove Fall, a veterinarian and associate professor of epidemiology – that taking care of a dog prompts people to stay active and live a healthier lifestyle. “I have met numerous owners that are convinced that their pet has been instrumental for them, often in terms of social support,” says Fall. “As a dog owner, I also notice that the people I meet during walks are often other dog owners, especially in bad weather.”

Another possible explanation, he adds, could be a dog’s effect on its owner’s microbiome. Other studies have suggested that growing up with a dog in the house can decrease allergies and asthma in children, and Fall says that pets may provide immune-boosting benefits for adults as well. Studies have also suggested that dog owners have lower reactivity to stress and faster recovery of blood pressure following stressful events.

The study authors were surprised to find that people who owned dogs that were originally bred for hunting – like terriers, retrievers and scent hounds – were the most protected from heart disease and death. Because these dogs typically need more exercise than other breeds, their owners may be more likely to meet physical activity guidelines, they say.

Fall says the study’s results can be generalized to the entire Swedish population, and likely to other countries with similar living standards and culture regarding dog ownership.

Scientists can’t say that getting a dog will definitely help a person live longer, but Fall believes it’s not a bad idea. “I think that a pet brings a lot of joy and companionship into a house, so if a person has the capacity to take care of it, they certainly should,” she says. “There are numerous studies showing that dog owners get more physical activity, which could help to prolong a healthy life.”

Smile!

“Smile in the mirror. Do that every morning and you’ll start to see a big difference in your life,” Yoko Ono told us. Lots of other folks have things to say about a smile, too.

“Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love,” Mother Teresa.

“Nothing you wear is more important than your smile,” Connie Stevens.

“Lighten up. Just enjoy life, smile more, laugh more, and don’t get so worked up about things,” Kenneth Branagh.

At Dino’s, we are giving you something to smile about – free use of our moving truck!

“Smile, it is the key that fits the lock of everybody’s heart,” Anthony J. D’Angelo.

“Your smile will give you a positive countenance that will make people feel comfortable around you,” Les Brown.

Our Dino’s moving truck is available without charge for four hours to our customers moving stuff in or out of our facility. Now that’s worth a smile!

“A smile is happiness you’ll find right under your nose,” Tom Wilson.

“I wake up every morning with a smile on my face, grateful for another day I never thought I’d see,” Dick Cheney.

“A smile is a curve that sets everything straight,” Phyllis Diller.

There’s no deposit needed to use our Dino’s van. The truck comes with a full tank of fuel, all you need do is bring it back full. One more reason to smile.

“The main thing you have to remember on this journey is just be nice to everyone and always smile,” Ed Sheeran.

“If you smile when no one else is around, you really mean it,” Andy Rooney.

“If the world’s a veil of tears, smile till rainbows span it,” Lucy Larson.

“Wrinkles will only go where the smiles have been,” Jimmy Buffett.

There are three catches to using a Dino’s truck – you must be at least 21 years old, have a valid driver’s license and proof of insurance. Trucks, just like smiles, are available at all Dino’s locations.

“Real men laugh at opposition; real men smile when enemies appear,” Marcus Garvey.

“Everyone looks so much better when they smile,” Jimmy Fallon.

“Wear a smile and have friends; wear a scowl and have wrinkles,” George Eliot.

“Show me a smile, and I’ll show you one back,” Vanilla Ice.

Dino’s gives you more reasons to smile – our trucks come with appliance and furniture dollies and moving pads.

“Dare, dream, dance, smile, and sing loudly! And have faith that love is an unstoppable force!” Suzanne Brockman.

“Smile, it instantly lifts the face, and it just lights up the room,” Christie Brinkley.

Why Some Names Are Banned

Sometimes a name simply is not permitted because it is obscene, could lead to bullying, violates cultural norms or just doesn’t seem right to a bureaucrat.

In many cases, you have to wonder what some parents were thinking. Who looks at their child and thinks Lucifer, iMac or Hitler might be the perfect name?

Governments around the world have taken it upon themselves to outlaw certain offensive, confusing or downright ridiculous baby names to save kids everywhere from decades of embarrassment, confusion and bullying.

We found no banned names in Canada. Perhaps the government is more tolerant of unusual names, or perhaps parents in Canada are more sensible than elsewhere.

In the United States, we found a couple examples of odd names, numbers actually, that were disallowed. New Jersey would not allow “50″ because it is a number, not a name, and California would not allow “III”, meaning three or third, because it is confusing. California also requires both a first and last name and only allows names written using the 26 letters of the alphabets – that is, no special characters, numbers or accents.

Offensive names are often banned. “Adolph Hitler,” for example is banned in Germany, Malaysia, Mexico and New Zealand. Germany also bars use of :Osama bin Laden” and Australia takes issue with “Bonghead.” The meaning of that one seems to mean somewone with a water pipe for a noggin.

Names considered obscene are no nos in a lot of places.

“Anal” is banned in New Zealand, “Anus” is banned in Denmark, “Panties,” “Shithead,” and “Virgin” are not allowed in Australia and “Woti” – meaning sexual instercourse – is banned in Malaysia.

Some governments will not allow names referring to the devil, to God or to titles of royalty or leaders.
In Japan, “Akuma” – meaning Devil – is not allowed. “Prince” is a no go in Saudia Arabia as is “Malek” – meaning king – and “Prophet”. “Prime Minister” and “God” are out in the Australian state of Victoria, as are Saint, Jesus, Bishop, Christ and Satan. New Zealand says no to “Lucifer.”

Governments draw the line at product names or brand names in some nations. Australia says no to “iMac” and “Ikea”, France tosses “Nutella” and Mexico’s state of Sonora boots “Facebook.”

Perhaps it would be easier for parents to stick with tried and true names like John, Mary, Joe, Jose, Maria and Ann.

Most Ubiquitous Letter in the English Language

This paragraph is abnormal. It contains an oddity, a linguistic quirk that you will find in no popular book or journal or script in any library. A crucial bit of vocabulary is missing (reading it aloud might help, but probably not). Can you spot our anomaly? And if you do, can you say what it is without spoiling it?

The answer is as plain as the nose on your face, or the cream in your coffee, or the vowels in your alphabet. The above paragraph is missing the most common letter in the English language: the letter E.

Readers Digest tells us that E is everywhere. In an analysis of all 240,000 entries in the Concise Oxford English Dictionary, OED editors found that the letter E appears in approximately 11% of all words in the common English vocabulary, about 6,000 more words than the runner-up letter, A. What’s more: E is the most commonly struck letter on your keyboard, and the second most popular key after the space bar. It’s one third of the single most-used word in English – ‘the’ – and appears in the most common English noun (‘time’), the most common verb (‘be’), in ubiquitous pronouns like he, she, me and we, not to mention tens of thousands of words ending in -ed and -es.

There’s a reason that scribes see composing prose without the letter E as one of the ultimate challenges in constrained writing. This hasn’t stopped masochistic wordsmiths from trying. Author Ernest Vincent Wright’s 1939 novel Gadsby, for example, contains some 50,000 words – none of them containing an E – while the 1969 French novel La Disparition has been translated into a dozen different languages, each edition omitting the most common letter in that language. The French and English versions successfully last 300 pages without the letter E; in Spanish, the letter A gets omitted, and in Russian, it’s O.

On the whole, most of the 5 full-time vowels (sometimes Y is a sixth) appear more frequently in English than most consonants, with a few exceptions. The most common consonants, Oxford’s analysis confirms, are R, T, N, S and L. The top ten most common letters in the Concise Oxford English Dictionary, and the percentage of words they appear in, are:

1. E – 11.1607%
2. A – 8.4966%
3. R – 7.5809%
4. I – 7.5448%
5. O – 7.1635%
6. T – 6.9509%
7. N – 6.6544%
8. S – 5.7351%
9. L – 5.4893%
10. C – 4.5388%

Haunted Places

Halloween is upon us, so it’s a perfect time to consider a few famous haunted places.

In Iowa, the Villisca ax murder house, is the best known. If you don’t know anything about this house, it looks like a normal old place on a residential street during the day. At night, however, when no lights or sounds can be seen or heard, you get a very different feeling. This is the “Murder House.” The walls still protect the identity of the murderer or murderers who bludgeoned to death the entire family of Josiah Moore and two overnight guests on June 10, 1912.

In Nebraska, the State Capitol building in Lincoln is said to be haunted by several ghosts as several tragic accidents have occurred there. Some have reported seeing a figure of a man falling. He is also heard screaming and crying. He is thought to have gotten sick and lost his balance while putting Christmas lights up. Other strange noises and mysterious voices have also been heard.

In Manitoba, the Fort Garry Hotel, particularly Room 202, has long been considered haunted. The old luxury hotel has been named one of Canada’s “most haunted” destinations by FlightNetwork.com, a travel website.
A woman apparently committed suicide Room 202 many years ago after hearing of the death of her husband in a car accident. Overcome with grief, she hung herself in the closet. Staff have reported seeing blood dripping down the walls upon entering the room, and guests have witnessed the apparition of a woman in a cloak hovering at the foot of their bed. The woman also is said to haunt the hotel lounge, where staff and guests have seen her, often crying in the corner.

Just Some Good News

True Love
A 93-year-old Georgia man proves that true love never dies. Four years ago, Clarence Purvis lost his wife of 64 years, Carolyn. But his affection for her remains on display for everyone in town to see at a daily lunch date he never misses.
Purvis takes a picture of his late wife and sets it up at the table with him during meals at Smith’s Restaurant in Reidsville, where he often ate with Carolyn. “Ain’t nobody loved one another more than me and my wife loved one another,” Purvis told local news station WTOC. “I wanted what she wanted and she wanted what I wanted.”

Hiker Carries Rooster 42 Miles to Safety
Heather Bolint was not expecting to rescue a rooster while fulfilling her lifelong dream of hiking the Appalachian Trail. The rooster, named Mason, also couldn’t have expected he’d find himself the absolute perfect rescuer. Mason was found about a half-mile north of the Mason Dixon line.
Bolint is an animal advocate. A few months ago, the 31-year-old left a job with The Humane League, working on farm animal protection measures, in order to hike the Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia. Still devoted, Bolint has been using this hike as a fundraiser for the animals. She’d completed 1,124 miles of her hike altogether, and was in Pennsylvania, when this very “fancy rooster,” as Bolint describes him, appeared out of nowhere.
The rooster in question was hanging around on the trail, about 30 feet from a rural road, with no houses nearby. Bolint sat on a log, while eating some snacks and waiting to see if the rooster would depart on his own or if he’d be collected by another person. Finally, holding the rooster close to her body, she proceeded along the trail and over then next 24 hours carried the rooster for 42 miles to Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. There Bolint’s boyfriend, who works for another farm animal advocacy group, met them there with his car. He suggested reaching out to a farm animal sanctuary called Poplar Spring, located on 400 acres in western Maryland. There Mason has settled in well.

Anonymous Man Honors Victims
An anonymous man is just one of the hundreds of regulars who visit Maple’s, a Maine coffee shop known for its handmade baked goods and a staff who knows many of its customers by name. On a recent Saturday morning, a samaritan quietly asked to foot the bill for 59 people buying breakfast after he ordered his — one for each of the lives lost in the Las Vegas mass shooting on Oct. 1.
“This is a long-time customer of mine, who I know very well. He’s just a person that does good things for other people,” said Robin Ray, the owner and head baker of Maple’s, “He’s not a wealthy person but just someone who feels led to help others.”

ICU Grandpa Subs for Parents
When Mary Beth Brulotte’s son, Logan, was born 3½ months early and weighed a mere 1 pound, 15 ounces, she knew he would have to spend time in the intensive care unit. What the 33-year-old from LaGrange, Georgia, didn’t fully realize was how guilty she would feel leaving him alone in the hospital.
“Every mom pictures their baby in their crib all alone crying,” Brulotte said, noting that the drive from her home to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta is two hours, her husband works a night shift and she has an 8-year-old daughter to care for, too. Those feelings disappeared in late September when she stumbled on David Deutchman cradling her sleeping baby at the hospital.
“I was heading in and was filled with anxiety. It was just wiped away when I saw him there holding Logan fast asleep,” she said. “He introduced himself as the ‘ICU grandpa’ and I thought, ‘Oh my God, this can’t be real. This man is like an angel.’ He said he heard Logan crying and asked the nurse if he could hold him and sing him to sleep.”
Deutchman, 82, has been volunteering at the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s ICUs for more than 12 years. On Tuesdays, he spends time with older children at the pediatric ICU, and on Thursdays he makes rounds at the neonatal ICU, where he holds babies whose parents can’t be with them that day.

Very Special Haircuts
Six-year-old Wyatt needed a haircut, but for children with autism, that can be harder than it looks. Fortunately, Franz Jakob and his vintage barber shop were there to help. Pictures of Jakob lying on the ground of his Canadian barbershop while cutting Wyatt’s hair have quickly spread, but the boy’s mother, Fauve Lafrenière, has been bringing him there since the store opened two years ago.
Now, Jakob often cuts hair for other children with autism. It may have something to do with his and the store’s old-school look. “My shop is completely vintage,” Jakob said of Authentischen Barbier, located in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec. “All the walls are jammed with photos and stuff from around here. I think that has a positive effect on the kids. Each time I’m doing it there are no tears, no screams. We enjoy it together. I think the atmosphere of the barbershop helps a lot. I really take my time doing it. I can take up to 90 minutes cutting hair for kids with special needs.”
There’s a certain order to things with Wyatt, according to Jakob. The young boy will wander around the store and occasionally lay down as Jakob follows, cutting his hair along the way.
Jakob, 45, has been cutting hair since he was 12. He used to charge $5 for a trim during lunch in high school; now he sees himself as a community leader. “I have a line each morning out my door,” said Jakob. “People drive three or four hours. I’m taking great pride in what I’m doing in my community.”

Robots Coming, Disruption Ahead

The march of the robots – Artificial Intelligence – into all aspects of society is under way. Robots are nondescript, intelligent machines programmed to mimic, and even surpass, the human capacity to recognize patterns and perform tasks. They do so by rapidly processing massive amounts of data as well as reading instant feedback from sensors, such as those that guide self-driving cars.

The WorldPost, a partnership of the Berggruen Institute and The Washington Post, has provided a look into the impact of AI, an impact already being felt in nearly every realm, from how we manufacture things and make a living, to the quality of our lives as we age. Advances in artificial intelligence are redefining warfare and reconfiguring the geopolitical balance.

The challenge is making smart policy choices that realize the promises of AI while containing the perils. Eliminating the drudgery of routine labor and enhancing energy efficiency in a warming climate are surely triumphs for humankind. The dissolution of privacy as individuals lose control over their personal information not so much.

The founding president of Google China, Kai-Fu Lee, dispels the idea that universal basic income, or UBI, is an optimal solution to the massive job displacement that the AI revolution is expected to unleash.

Kai-Fu heads the AI institute at the venture capital firm Sinovation Ventures. He says “Roughly half of all jobs will disappear in the next decade.” When robots and AI inevitably take over, he says, we cannot naively assume a government stipend alone “will be a catalyst for people to reinvent themselves professionally.” In order to truly turn this technological revolution into “a creative renaissance,” he writes from Beijing, we will instead need to capitalize on the human touch and focus on people-to-people interaction, because ultimately “only humans can create and come up with new innovations. AI…cannot think outside the box, and it can only optimize problems defined by humans.” Societies will have to bend to the new realities not only with a basic guarantee of subsistence, he says, but also with a new definition of the work ethic and a new valuation of social labor, such as elder care.

John Markoff worries that there won’t be enough humans to handle elder care and sees the elderly as the next frontier for AI. “Globally, the number of people over 80 will double by the middle of the century – almost half a billion people will fall into the neediest care category – and that percentage will increase by sevenfold by the end of this century,” he writes. “The dependency ratio – that proportion of humans who require care compared to those who can give care – is also increasing inexorably.”

Japan is leading the way in robots for elder care, Markoff says. Other aging nations, including China – a byproduct of decades of a now-abandoned one-child policy – as well as Europe and the U.S., lag behind and will inevitably have to follow suit, he says. For now, he says, as roboticist Rodney Brooks has suggested, “self-driving cars will be the first elder-care robots,” enabling old people to maintain their mobility when acute awareness of their surroundings and reaction time diminishes. Sensors that can track when an elderly person needs medical assistance are not far behind, followed by what Markoff calls “machines of loving grace” that will offer companionship for the old and isolated.

As with all great transformations, there is a geopolitical dimension as well. Whoever dominates AI, especially its military and security applications, will put their stamp on the world order. America has long held the delusion that it has a permanent advantage in leading technological innovation. But Eric Schmidt, chairman of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, says he expects China will surpass Silicon Valley in artificial intelligence advances in about a year.

Edward Tse explains why. “While so much of the world today lacks clear direction,” Tse writes from Shanghai, “China has an edge in its ability to combine strong, top-down government directive with vibrant grass-roots-level innovation. Beyond this, China has an abundance of data to train AI-learning algorithms because of its huge population of Internet users – more than 700 million. China’s thriving mobile Internet ecosystem also provides a test bed for AI researchers to collect and analyze valuable demographics and transactional and behavioral big data and to conduct large-scale experiments at a much higher level than foreign counterparts.”

Beware to the winner. Big data analysis through the prowess of intelligent machines introduces a host of threats – not least of which is the unsettling reality that where there is connectivity, there is also surveillance. The more we know or learn though connected networks, the more that is known and learned about us. The communication technologies we use today are invasive by design, collecting our photos, comments and friends in giant searchable databases. In the West, private companies intrude on privacy to monetize personal data. In China, the security state is well on its way to becoming an all-seeing Big Brother.

Technological change would not gain momentum if it was not in some way responsive to the demands of society. In the end, who defines those needs and desires will determine whether fulfilling them is good or bad for society as a whole. For now, unless or until they acquire “general intelligence,” robots and AI remain bound to the humans who design them.