California launched two teletherapy apps as part of the governor’s $500 million foray into health technology with private companies. But the rollout has been so slow that one company has yet to make its app available on Android, and social workers worry youths who need clinical care won’t get referrals.
Tech
Posted inEducation
Ron DeSantis or ChatGPT? When is it cheating? UCSC chancellor on artificial intelligence in education
The emergence of ChatGPT and other generative AI applications has marked an inflection point in education, technology and beyond. UC Santa Cruz Chancellor Cynthia Larive sat down with local tech heavy hitter Guy Kawasaki for an insightful conversation about education in this new era, what Larive considers cheating and the role of a teacher in a world when knowledge sits at the tip of our keyboard.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Why news organizations should rethink social media comments
Santa Cruz digital marketer Cade Wright is tired of all the angry and often toxic comments to articles posted on social media. He has a radical idea — get rid of them. Here, he explains his reasoning about why impulsive reactions can distort information and undermine journalistic integrity. He is sure there is a better way.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
With growing popularity of tech like ChatGPT, county restricts AI for hiring, requires more public disclosure
In a unanimous vote Tuesday, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors approved a policy on artificial intelligence aimed at “harnessing the potential but also recognizing some of the risks, in particular on data privacy.” Big decisions will remain in human hands, a spokesperson said, but the county wanted a policy that could allow it to use AI as a tool while acknowledging its blind spots.
Posted inBusiness & Technology
Santa Cruz medtech company Capstan Medical raises $31.4 million in new funding round, looks to local expansion
Capstan Medical, founded in 2020, is developing a minimally invasive technology to treat mitral and tricuspid valve disease. The Santa Cruz company recently raised $31.4 million in a Series B fundraising round led by Palo Alto-based venture capital firm Eclipse. The funding will help with hiring in four key areas — software and controls engineering, mechanical engineering, clinical and operations.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Could Dave have talked HAL into opening the pod doors if HAL was an advanced AGI?
Doug Erickson, Santa Cruz tech guru and founder of Santa Cruz Works, helps us understand artificial intelligence by taking us back to 1968’s cult classic “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Could that fictional scenario of machines taking over for people happen with today’s AI? He leads us through some scenarios.
Posted inLatest News
As California fires worsen, can AI come to the rescue?
Cal Fire is the first fire agency to use artificial intelligence to look for signs of wildfires and directly alert dispatch centers.
Posted inAptos
Aptos, Microsoft’s new default font, chosen for the community’s ‘widely ranging landscape and climate’
Aptos is a sans serif font, which is designed to be easily readable and features letters that are simpler, with fewer flourishes. Microsoft said Steve Matteson designed the typeface “with a slight humanist touch.”
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
AI is our friend, even in Santa Cruz County. Why are we so afraid of it?
Local tech guru and Santa Cruz Works co-founder Doug Erickson ponders the fear surrounding artificial intelligence and the push to regulate it. It’s not a demon monster, he says, but something we all already use in Santa Cruz County. And he applauds our leaders for being open to it. He suggests we approach it with cautious optimism. “AI has the potential to carry us into an epoch of remarkable transformation — one where human effort is minimized, decisions are optimized and public services reach heights of quality previously unimagined,” he writes.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
In the Age of Doomscrolling, how do we find hope in the always-on drumbeat of bad news?
The central experience of our era is a constant, surround-sound, 24/7, weaponized and ruthlessly engineered sense of doom, Wallace Baine writes. And while every era has its crises, our internet addiction and algorithms aimed at keeping us doomscrolling puts an extraordinary, crushing psychic weight on all of us.