The Optimist Times — Issue #5
July 17th — July 23rd
The Optimist Times is a new kind of front page news. Instead of showing stories that exploit our fears, the stories found here inspire, amaze, and awe. We live in the most spectacular time in history and The Optimist Times intends to highlight this. If you would like to get every issue in your inbox each week you can sign up here. Thanks for reading!
Happy Monday to all! Lots of interesting things happening all over the world in this week’s issue. Let’s get to it!
In Urban China, Hardly Anyone Is Using Cash Anymore
The New York Times — 6 min read
China is moving away from cash. In just a short amount of time, China went from the majority of transactions happening in cash to now the majority happening via smartphone. Along with Africa, it appears mobile payments innovation is being lead by the developing world.
Technology is transforming what happens when a child goes to school
The Economist — 12 min read
Schools all around the world are starting to put technology in the classroom to good use. With the help of intelligent and adaptive software, students are able to progress at their own learning rate and teachers are able to focus on teaching to each student’s strengths and weaknesses, all without breaking the bank. The combination of great teachers with intelligent software looks to be a powerful force in the future of education.
China plans to use AI to gain global economic dominance by 2030
MIT Technology Review — 2 min read
The Chinese government is very intent on being the world leader of AI. It just released its plan to make that happen. Hopefully, this impacts other nations to invest more in research and education in this area. It’s pretty clear that AI is going to have a major impact on the future, now it’s just down to what country wants to put in the effort to become the leader in the field.
Motorola Solutions and Neural to Work Together on Intelligence for Cameras
Motorola Solutions — 3 min read
Motorola Solutions announced that it will be working with Neurala (an artificial intelligence company) to develop intelligent cameras for public safety uses. Why this matters is, as the article points out, it could be used to help improve public safety like using cameras to locate missing children.
Pittsburgh Gets a Tech Makeover
The New York Times — 8 min read
Because of the influence of Carnegie Mellon University, the tech industry is starting to move into the city of Pittsburgh. This has really helped vitalize the city which is now younger, more international, and unlike the majority of other tech hubs, cheaper to live. Keep an eye on the city of Pittsburgh, they’re doing some really interesting things.
Free robot lawyer can now help you with 1,000 different legal scenarios
Digital Trends — 2 min read
Apparently chatbots aren’t actually just gimmicks. This chatbot, developed by a teenager called DoNotPay, has been able to help people get out of $4 million worth of parking tickets. And now it’s able to handle more than just parking tickets. Impressive stuff.
Google Glass Gets It Right the Second Time
Bloomberg — 3 min read
In its initial release, Google Glass bombed. It was laughed at and ridiculed. But what new technology hasn’t been? It appears now it’s starting to find its groove in the factory. Adapted for more specific industry use cases, Google Glass is now being used to enhance workers abilities in many different fields.
We joined the food revolution — and you can, too
World Bank — 4 min read
This is a neat story about a Uganda company, Musana Carts, that focuses on improving the street food industry by designing a street vending cart that helps vendors, or vendors-to-be, navigate the sometimes difficult challenges faced when starting a street vending business. This helps spur entrepreneurship and also improve the growing food industry in Uganda.
Come across any inspiring stories this week? Please pass them along to me and I will try including them in next week’s issue.
Thanks for reading!
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