Virtual Reality is the latest buzz in the technological sphere, especially with the arrival of VR devices like headsets from giants like Facebook (Oculus Rift), Sony (PlayStation VR) and HTC (Vive). It is a relatively old concept (Aspen Movie Map was the first example, created by MIT in 1978) but with advancement in contemporary technologies,…
PATENTING OF HUMAN GENES: Intellectual Property vs Access to Healthcare & Research
In the case briefs of Myriad Genetics vs Associated Molecular Pathology, amongst the several moving stories of victims of gene patents, contained the story of Abigail, a 10-year-old with a long QT syndrome, a serious heart condition that, if left untreated, could result in sudden death. A company in this case had obtained patent on two genes associated…
Cashless Societies: Causes for Concern
Source: CNN A cashless society is no longer a myth but an impending reality, one of the causes for concern is the issue of privacy which this article deals with. The idea of a cashless society, i.e., ‘a civilization holding money, but without its most distinctive material representation – cash’, is said to have originated…
Fake News and Its Follies
Fake news may seem to be very innocuous and in fact might not seem to cause much harm to anyone or have any real-world consequences. Fake news is a phenomenon where a few individuals, sites and online portals create or/and share pieces of information either completely false or cherry-picked from real incidents with the intention…
PAYMENT BANKS: AN OUTLINE
Ed. Note: This post by Vishal Rackecha is a part of the TLF Editorial Board Test 2016. One of the greatest problems for the Indian Economy faces today is the problem of financial inclusion and the lack of credit in rural areas and for micro industries. In 2013, the Reserve Bank released a paper based…
GOOGLE PIXEL AND ITS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The New Big Daddy Watching You?
Ed. Note: This post by Sayan Bhattacharya is a part of the TLF Editorial Board Test 2016. Google launched its first smartphone series called Pixel some time earlier this month. The major shift from being software producer to being both hardware and software producer was a calculated change in policy to take a direct dig…
CIVILIAN DRONE HYSTERIA: The Absence of a Regulation Mechanism
This post by Sayan Bhattacharya is a part of the TLF Editorial Board Test 2016. We live in a world where presence of drones, more formally known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, are owned by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs to high school kids who put them to several new non-military uses previously unimaginable. We live in…
Roboethics
Ed. Note: This post by Benjamin Vanlalvena is a part of the TLF Editorial Board Test 2016. Source: xkcd Liability in law arises to persons who are considered rational and have control over their actions. Techonology is advancing at a rapid pace; machines have taken over a lot of jobs…
Biotechnology, Ethics and CRISPR: A Panacea or Pandora’s Box?
Ed. Note: This post by Benjamin Vanlalvena is a part of the TLF Editorial Board Test 2016. Change is inevitable. Through technology, humans have brought about changes not only in the environment but also within themselves. Whether these changes are ‘good’ or ‘bad’, the fact is that we have achieved things and gone to places we…
BLOCKCHAINS: THE TRUE INNOVATION BEHIND BITCOINS
Ed. Note: This post by Vishal Rakhecha is a part of the TLF Editorial Board Test 2016. Bitcoins have disrupted e-commerce not because of the idea of virtual currency but the peer- to-peer system it has developed. The USP of bitcoins was the decentralised structure of data entry. Any participant in the entire network can…

