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People Don’t Trust Blockchain Systems – is Regulation a Way to Help?
Blockchain technology isn’t as widely used as it could be, largely because blockchain users don’t trust each other, as research shows. Business leaders and regular people are also slow to adopt blockchain-based systems because they fear potential government regulations might require them to make expensive or difficult changes in the future. Mistrust and regulatory uncertainty… Read More
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Transparency and Privacy: Empowering People Through Blockchain
Blockchain has already proven its huge influence on the financial world with its first application in the form of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. It might not be long before its impact is felt everywhere. Blockchain is a secure chain of digital records that exist on multiple computers simultaneously so no record can be erased or… Read More
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Artificial Intelligence Must Know When to Ask for Human Help
Artificial intelligence systems are powerful tools for businesses and governments to process data and respond to changing situations, whether on the stock market or on a battlefield. But there are still some things AI isn’t ready for. We are scholars of computer science working to understand and improve the ways in which algorithms interact with… Read More
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Fingerprint and Face Scanners Aren’t as Secure as We Think They Are
Despite what every spy movie in the past 30 years would have you think, fingerprint and face scanners used to unlock your smartphone or other devices aren’t nearly as secure as they’re made out to be. While it’s not great if your password is made public in a data breach, at least you can easily… Read More
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A Secure Relationship With Passwords Means not Being Attached to How You Pick Them
When you are asked to create a password – either for a new online account or resetting login information for an existing account – you’re likely to choose a password you know you can remember. Many people use extremely basic passwords, or a more obscure one they reuse across many sites. Our research has found… Read More
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Most Americans Don’t Realize What Companies Can Predict From Their Data
Sixty-seven percent of smartphone users rely on Google Maps to help them get to where they are going quickly and efficiently. A major of feature of Google Maps is its ability to predict how long different navigation routes will take. That’s possible because the mobile phone of each person using Google Maps sends data about… Read More
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Don’t Click That Link! How Criminals Access Your Digital Devices and What Happens When They Do
Every day, often multiple times a day, you are invited to click on links sent to you by brands, politicians, friends and strangers. You download apps on your devices. Maybe you use QR codes. Most of these activities are secure because they come from sources that can be trusted. But sometimes criminals impersonate trustworthy sources… Read More
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Personal DNA Tests Might Help Research – But They Put Your Data at Risk
Your DNA has become a valuable commodity. Companies such as 23andMe may charge you for an analysis of your genetic profile, but they make their real money from selling that data on to other companies. Now healthcare providers are following suit by encouraging patients to take genetic tests that will create databases ostensibly for medical… Read More
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Interior Design of the Future Will Seem Like Magic
Imagine a house where the walls change colour depending on your mood, or your tablecloth changes shape when you’re having a dinner party. A house where every item, from your cushions to your lampshades, interact with you. This might sound like something out of Harry Potter, but such magic interior design could become a real… Read More
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How AI Could Help You Learn Sign Language
Sign languages aren’t easy to learn and are even harder to teach. They use not just hand gestures but also mouthings, facial expressions and body posture to communicate meaning. This complexity means professional teaching programmes are still rare and often expensive. But this could all change soon, with a little help from artificial intelligence (AI).… Read More
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Small Streams and Wetlands Are Key Parts of River Networks – Here’s Why They Need Protection
The Trump administration is proposing to redefine a key term in the Clean Water Act: “Waters of the United States.” This deceptively simple phrase describes which streams, lakes, wetlands and other water bodies qualify for federal protection under the law. Government regulators, landowners, conservationists and other groups have struggled to agree on what it means… Read More
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Why Universities Need Homerooms
What kind of education can give us hope for the future? As an experiential educator for the past 20 years who focused my doctoral research on school exclusion, this is a question close to my heart. Over 20 years ago, environmentalist David Orr stated in in his seminal essay What Is Education For? that the… Read More
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College Students with Disabilities Are Too Often Excluded
AnnCatherine Heigl, a sophomore at George Mason University, recently attempted to join all eight sororities at her school. All eight turned her down. If you ask her sister, who Tweeted about how the experience left AnnCatherine “unwanted and devastated,” the reason the sororities denied AnnCatherine is because she has a disability: Down syndrome. This kind… Read More
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Mentors Play Critical Role in Quality of College Experience, New Poll Suggests
In order to have a rewarding college experience, students should build a constellation of mentors. This constellation should be a diverse set of faculty, staff and peers who will get students out of their comfort zones and challenge them to learn more – and more deeply – than they thought they could. Students should begin… Read More
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Why You Should Stop Buying Vitamins and Get More Sleep Instead
Almost half of all Canadians regularly take at least one nutritional supplement such as vitamins, minerals, fibre supplements, antacids and fish oils. Many of these individuals are healthy and hoping to improve general well-being or prevent chronic disease. Scientific evidence, however, suggests that some high-dose nutritional supplements — such as beta carotene, vitamin E and… Read More
