BradBerens.com
Thoughts about where our real and digital worlds collide.

  • Hacking the Dead, a Microfiction

    When a company planning an IPO wants to influence a skeptical analyst, they go about it in a sneaky way that involves Generative AI. I’ve been experimenting with microfictions, short SF stories (1,000 words or less) that help me explore and illustrate aspects of how our lives might evolve within digital transformation. Here, then, is another…

  • The Ghosts of What Wasn’t

    A recent Economist article about dying small towns inspired me to think about Retro Futures, the failed promise of the hyperloop, and “sideshadows.” Typically, when I’ve written about retro futures, I’ve explored how old science fiction stories illuminate things happening today. This time, I’ll take a different angle. One of the problems with being a futurist…

  • Who Am I This Time?

    New developments in Generative AI promise that we’ll all have digital BFFs to help us live our best lives, but is this really possible?  Last week, I read an intriguing Psychology Today piece about the next wave of Generative AI powered digital assistants. In “The Emergence of Private LLMs,” John Nosta argues: The role of Large Language…

  • Cheating at Wordle

    In which I confess to a weak moment that also has some interesting implications, or at least that’s what I’m telling myself. Bless me, Reader, for I have sinned. La Profesora and I aren’t competitive when the stakes are real, but this mutual support does not apply to vicious games of Gin Rummy or to…

  • What is Real?

    Generative AI makes it effortless to create photorealistic images (and soon videos), but sometimes the question is more complicated than whether something is fake. I belonged to a fraternity in college. This often surprises folks until they learn that the house in question was a co-ed literary society that fans of the Revenge of the Nerds…

  • No, Musk’s Behavior Isn’t Hurting Tesla

    Headlines about a new report draw the wrong conclusions about what caused Tesla’s weak sales quarter and stock decline. Whoever runs PR for Caliber, the brand reputation consultancy, deserves a raise or at least a nice bottle of Scotch. Last week, a new “In tech we trust?” report from Caliber came out that contextualizes Tesla’s reputation…

  • Time Travel, Analog and Digital

    The right stimulus makes the present disappear, but how are analog and digital moments of time travel different? Typically, we imagine time travel as deliberate, if often improvisational: Marty jumps into the DeLorean to escape the bad guys; the Enterprise crew kidnaps whales from twentieth century California; Sam Beckett puts right what once went wrong,…

  • The End of Filter Failure?

    How soon will technology start working for users rather than big tech companies when it comes to information overload? Last time, I shared a microfiction (1,000 words or less), a short science fiction story called “Fleeing the Emerald City,” about Calvin, a man who uses advanced filtering technology to lose weight but doesn’t much enjoy…

  • Fleeing the Emerald City, a Microfiction

    What happens when you sign up for a hi-tech digital behavior modification program to get healthy, but you don’t much enjoy the experience? I’ve been experimenting with microfictions, short SF stories (1,000 words or less) that help me explore and illustrate aspects of how our lives might evolve within digital transformation. Here, then, is another microfiction.…

  • Jokes, Puns, Politics, and Other Nonsense

    Why do we laugh at jokes but groan at puns? And what does this have to do with politics and Experience Stacks? (Issue #109) Here’s a puzzler: why do we laugh at jokes but groan at puns? I admit this is an overgeneralization. Not every joke is funny, and not every pun is groan worthy, but it’s not a…