What happens when machines sound compassionate? Does it matter if they actually feel nothing at all?Synthetic empathy sits at the intersection of affective computing, social psychology, design, and ethics. It’s the capability of an AI system to perceive a person’s emotional state and respond in a way that appears caring—sometimes helpfully, sometimes manipulatively, and often…
By Jeremy Abram I never agreed to live inside a machine that knows what I want before I do. None of us did.Yet here we are — scrolling, tapping, streaming, consuming — believing we’re making choices while invisible systems gently steer our attention like a hand on the small of the back. This is not…
1950s–1970s: Mainframes, Terminals, and the Birth of “Sitting Work” Late 1970s–1980s: Arcades and Home Consoles 1990s: The Internet Era and PC Gaming 2000s: Smartphones, Laptops, and Always-On Connectivity 2010s: Social Media, Free-to-Play Games, and Esports 2020s: Remote Everything, VR/AR, and AI-Mediated Play Mechanisms: How Devices and Games Shape Body and Brain Posture & Musculoskeletal Load…
What 5G actually is (in one page) Definition. 5G is the fifth generation of mobile networks defined by 3GPP and the ITU under the IMT-2020 umbrella. It introduces a new radio interface (5G NR) and a cloud-native core that unlock three headline use cases: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC), and massive machine-type…
1) What “AI training” typically means on social platforms When policies say your information is used to “train,” “improve,” or “develop” AI, they usually mean: Policies vary by region and product. The same company may have different language for: main social apps vs. AI assistants vs. commerce features vs. creator tools. 2) Platform by platform:…
According to TOS & Privacy Policies… Topic Facebook Instagram X (Twitter) TikTok Pandora License you grant when you upload You keep ownership but grant Meta a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to host, use, distribute, modify, run, copy, publicly perform/display, translate, and create derivatives—to operate and improve the service (ends when you delete unless…
The short version How platforms define these permissions iOS & iPadOS Android What apps can actually do with that access Granting access doesn’t automatically mean a silent upload—but it does allow the app to read the content you’ve allowed and then decide what to do with it under its privacy policy: Where the disclosures live—and…
On phones, “contacts” refers to your device’s address book (names, phone numbers, emails, notes, birthdays, etc.). Granting access lets an app read some or all of those fields; some apps may also request the ability to create/update contacts. Even though platforms gate access with prompts, what happens after you grant permission is governed by the…
for JeremyAbram.net This guide walks you through a clean, practical, privacy-first setup for Windows 11 (and most steps also apply to Windows 10). It covers OS setup, Microsoft account controls, app permissions, Edge, Office, device encryption, Recall on Copilot+ PCs, networking/DNS, and more—with exact menu paths and what each toggle actually does. 0) Before you…
by Jeremy Abram · JeremyAbram.net Privacy on iPhone isn’t a single switch—it’s a layered system of device security, Apple-level protections, and per-app permissions. Follow these steps in order. Each step explains what to do, why it matters, and (when relevant) what to trade off. I’ve included official sources so you can verify or go deeper.…