Month: December 2018

Skiing in Kitzbühel

Kitzbühel, in the Austrian state of Tyrol, is one of the most picturesque ski resorts in the Alps, and frequently has good snow conditions in the week before Christmas.  Whilst this owes much to the town’s substantial investment in snow-making machines, we were blessed this year with enough snowfall in mid-December to transform the valley and mountains into a real winter “wonderland”.  Bright sunshine and temperatures down to around -20 C for much of the week also meant that the skiing was really excellent!  I hope that the following photographs from the slopes catch something of the great conditions we experienced.  At this time of year the resort is almost empty, except at weekends, and even then it was always possible to escape the crowds!

 

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The town itself is  full of character, with a winter market and lots of cosy bars and restaurants – as I hope the evening photographs below indicate.  We stayed at the Kaiserhof, which now has a new manager and is greatly improved after a bit of a dip in the 2017-18 season. It is thoroughly to be recommended – has great staff, excellent cuisine and a very good wine list!  It was a real pleasure to stay there again, and be pampered just for a change!  I can’t wait to be back again next year.

 

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For a comparison with the conditions in 2014, do have a look at my skiing post for that year!

Interview with Teledifusão de Macau on ICT4D

It was so good to be in Macau and Shenzhen recently in my role as a member of the Advisory Board of the United Nations University Computing and Society Institute.  During my visit, colleagues at the Institute had arranged for me to participate in Teledifusão de Macau (TDM)’s prime time Talk Show with Kelsey Wilhelm.  This was a great opportunity to share some of my current thinking about the interface between digital technologies and humans, and Kelsey made sure that it was a lively and fun half hour discussion – really grateful to him for this!

The show is now available on YouTube, and begins with an overview of the current state of ICT for development, before going on to discuss

  • ways through which people with disabilities can be empowered through the use of technology,
  • the importance of new technologies being inclusive, because otherwise they lead to new inequalities,
  • working “with” the poorest and most marginalised rather than for them,
  • the role of new technologies such as AI and blockchain in serving the interests of the rich rather than the poor,
  • cyborgs and the creation of machine-humans and human-machines, and finally
  • some of the ethical issues that need to be discussed if we are to balance the benefits of new technologies whilst limiting their harm.

I very much hope that what I have to say is thought-provoking and interesting.  We need much wider public debate on these issues!