NEW YORK’S CAPITAL REGION RISES UP
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FIGHTING FOR FOOD SUSTAINABILITY
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TOMB RAIDER REBOOT
S U O I R O NOT N.P.H. EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
H C E T S K L A T IS R R A H NEIL PATRICK STEM REIGNS SUPREME! NCE RAY J’S TECH RENAISSA SNOPES VS. FAKE NEWS AT A WELL-ROUNDED LOOK Y THE FLAT EARTH SOCIET WITH D W O R C O ) G O G IE D IN ( E H T T CEO DAVID MANDELBRO
Spring 2018 • Display until July 3, 2018
contents
SPRING 2018
80 Becoming Black Lightning
66 Nonstop Neil Patrick Harris By Anthony Elio Photo Jim Wright/CPi Syndication
Departments 12 Since Last Issue 16 By the Numbers 18 Event Wrap-Ups 20 Quick Bytes 26 Women in Tech 28 S ocial Impact Spotlight
30 Social Media 32 Robotics 156 Product Revolution 164 Events 166 Coming Next Issue 168 Lighter Side
34 Innovator Profile Snopes Founder Takes on Fake News
36 Connected Car Big Trucks Go Electric 38 T he Automotive Cybersecurity Dilemma
42 Security Israel’s Cybersecurity Powerhouse 46 A Legal Look at Social Media Bots
50 Outdoor+Adventure Tech Inside the UFC’s New Performance Institute 52 The 360 Degrees of Tiger Woods 58 Gear Guide
62 Health Tech Assistive Tech: Regain Your Senses 66 W here Integrative Health & Preventative Medicine Intersect 70 Creating a Cure at Bowie State University
72 Gaming+Entertainment 78 Walton Goggins Talks Tomb Raider 80 Becoming Black Lightning 82 Comic Creators Assemble!
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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SPRING 2018
contents
SPRING2018 86 Tech Zone
The New York Capital Region
138 Astronaut Abby Reaches for the Stars
88 The Heartbeat of Tech Valley 92 Building the Workforce of 2025 94 CEG’s Capital Mission
96 Connected Life Wrapping Up CES 2018 98 Best of CES 2018 102 How AI Will Save (Or Ruin) the World 108 Figuring Out the Flat Earth Phenomenon
112 Business Innovations Ray J Talks Entrepreneurship 116 Crowdfunding with the CEO of Indiegogo 118 The State of Cryptocurrency
124 STEM Today
Produced in Partnership with the USA Science & Engineering Festival
How to Be A Genius with the Author of Quirky 128 Lockheed Martin at the USASEF 132 Preview of USASEF 2018 136 The Story of STEMified 138 Astronaut Abby Reaches for the Stars
144 Sustainability Today Produced in Partnership with Sustainable Brands
AnnaSophia Robb Takes On Food Waste 148 Giving the Environment A Voice 152 Rolland’s Sustainable Revolution
154 Art & Tech Nigel Stanford and His Robot Band
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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SPRING 2018
e NUMB RS
by the
A look at the metrics shaping the technology market — and our lives
Cryptocurrency has become an increasingly hot topic over the past year, with companies such as Bitcoin and Ripple going from online unknowns to mainstream investment powerhouses. Let’s take a look at the essential stats you need to know about the current state of cryptocurrency.
Americans using Bitcoin
Average transactions per Hour As Of 2/2/18:
2%
25% Bitcoin ATMs worldwide as of 2/2/2018 2,008
53,447
40,956
9,757 2,772
1,043
$10,162.78
feb. 2018
$13,889.99
dec. 2017 oct. 2017
$4,353.05 $2,873.83
july 2017
$1,349.19
apr. 2017 jan. 2017 OCT. 2016
$697.37
july 2016
$625.88
$14,021.00
APR. 2016
$449.33
$2,848.71
Jan. 2016
$367.13
402
Most Expensive Global Virtual Currency (as of January 2018)
Americans that believe crypto is the future of online spending
$967.67
0
3000
Price Of Bitcoin (25 month snapshot)
6000
9000
$1,156.74 $891.08
Number of BitcoinS In Circulation In Millions (Q4) $785.58 $615.23 $392.79 SOURCES: Statista, bitinfocharts.com
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Infographics images: Vecteezy.com and freepik.com
INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SPRING 2018
2011 – 8 2012 – 10.61
2013 – 12.2 2014 – 13.67
2017 – 16.78
2015 – 15.03 2016 – 16.08
12000
15000
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[ Event Wrap-Ups ]
Dent 2018
Inspired by a Steve Jobs quote, the tagline of Dent 2018 was to “put a dent in the universe,” something the event definitely encourages with its focus on innovation and creativity. Located in Napa Valley, California, the event featured a keynote speech by Shark Tank’s Daymond John as well as appearances by Olympic Gold Medalist Brian Boitano, Actress Zoë Bell, and Grammy-winning Singer Grace Weber.
Outdoor Retailer + Snow Show
Making its first appearance in Denver, Colorado, the Outdoor Retailer + Snow Show was the place to go for the outdoor recreation enthusiast. The largest trade show in the country for the winter and outdoor sports business, the January event saw over 29,000 attendees checking out the next big gear from over 1,000 different brands. And, to highlight the event’s debut in Denver, the Outdoor Retailer + Snow Show included a Backcountry Film Festival event as well as the “Whole Mountain” Fashion Show at the beautiful Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
IoT Evolution Expo
Taking place in Orlando, Florida, the IoT Evolution Expo was a celebration of the Internet of Things and how it is changing the world of business. The 2018 event kicked off with a workshop by Verizon, Nokia, and Renesas to teach special techniques in cellular technology aimed at developers and engineers in the IoT space. Throughout the event, attendees were treated to keynotes by tech personalities such as Intel Strategy and Solutions Engineering Division General Manager Dipti Vachani and McAfee Chief Consumer Security Evangelist Gary Davis.
(Top) VP of Sales Jason Riggs with former I&T Today cover star Daymond John. (Left) Editor-inChief Charles Warner with actress Zoë Bell.
Photos: Riggs/Warner | I&T Today
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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SPRING 2018
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Images courtesy IoT Evolution Expo
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DEPARTMENTS / Social Media
From Posting to Protesting By Alex Moersen
A look at how activism has changed in the age of social media In December 2010, a wave of both violent and non-violent protests spread across North Africa and the Middle East. Beginning in Tunisia with the Tunisian Revolution, the protests and coups strongly spread to five other countries (Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria, Bahrain) and caused sustained protests in a bevy of other countries in the region. But how did the Arab Spring revolution spread so fervently? A major factor was social media. The Arab Spring showed how social media could facilitate communication and interaction among protesters and activists. Participants used social platforms to organize demonstrations, share information, and raise both local and global Photo: Michael awareness of ongoing Thompson via Flickr causes. While the effects of social media ranged from country to country, for some, While online activism isn’t necessarily a new it was critical to the cause. trend, it is a growing one. And it is a trend that Aria Finger, CEO of Dosomething.org, is quite More recently, social media has played a vital familiar with. Hitting its 25th anniversary this role in some of the largest movements of the year, DoSomething is a website dedicated to past year. The Women’s March of 2017 is likely connecting young people with social causes. the most famous example. What started as a According to Finger, one of the key changes to simple Facebook post by a grandmother in activism that the internet has brought is a Hawaii turned into the largest single-day protest diversity of voice: “30 years ago, there were five in U.S. history. On the night after the 2016 megaphones and they were ABC, CBS, NBC, Presidential election, Teresa Shook organized a FOX, and CW … So now there are way more Facebook event for a women’s march on megaphones and some of those are individuals, Washington. She went to bed with about 40 some of those are companies, some of those are responses. She woke up to around 10,000. non-profits. You get to have a much greater On the other side of the country, Bob Bland diversity of voices, which is great and it also gives made a call for action on November 10, asking the diversity of issues.” people to organize their own local communities. Fortune estimated the number of U.S. marchers However, Finger makes the point that online between 3,336,865 and 4,633,725. It all started activism is only effective if accompanied by offline action. “Online-only activation can on social media.
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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SPRING 2018
Photo: Mobilus In Mobili via wikimedia commons
certainly make a difference,” she explains, “but I think the vast majority of campaigns are strong with an offline component. I say for probably 80 percent plus of our campaigns, the end in itself is offline action. So we use social media as a means to that end.” The important role that social media plays, as seen in the Arab Spring revolutions and the Women’s March, is how it connects people and assists them in organizing and spreading their cause. While social media is extremely helpful with connection and awareness, it can even contribute to offline activation through event planning. And, while there is debate about the benefits of social media in general, there is no denying the potential power of a single Facebook post, when just one was able to lead to the largest single-day protest in U.S. history. ■
DEPARTMENTS / Robotics
Robots In The Unemployment Line By Anthony Elio
Courtesy of Knightscope
Courtesy of Softbank
We’ve heard for years now that the robot uprising is imminent. Suddenly, occupations such as food service, babysitting, and even surgery find themselves threatened by automation. A 2017 study by Mckinsey Global Institute found that, by the year 2030, approximately 800 million jobs will possibly become automated. But, just because experts are essentially predicting the collapse of human economy and self-worth, does this mean that a cold, emotionless piece of machinery is always superior to its fleshy, incompetent alternative? Not exactly. In addition to the recent string of robot hirings, we’ve seen a brand new trend: robots finding their way to the unemployment line. In late January, Scottish grocery store Margiotta Food & Wine handed a pink slip to Pepper, a robot aimed at helping customers with their inquiries around the store. The robot was created by SoftBank, a Japanese
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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SPRING 2018
telecommunication company, and was on a trial run with the Edinburgh store. However, Pepper was not as effective as the staff had hoped, as it would only give vague responses to basic questions about where items such as wine and milk are located. Which is pretty telling, considering even a teenager can hold a grocery store job. However, Pepper isn’t the only robot currently perusing the want ads. Created by Knightscope, the K5 security robot caused a stir while working with the San Francisco SPCA animal shelter. While the robot was initially enlisted to reduce crime in the surrounding area, the robot’s effect on the surrounding homeless population resulted in a massive public backlash, including threats of violence and vandalism against the shelter. And the wave of robot firings doesn’t stop in the U.S. In early 2016, three different restaurants in Guangzhou (a city located in
Getty Images/iStockphoto
southern China) found themselves laying off their entire non-carbon-based staffs due to the previously human characteristic of incompetence. In fact, according to the website Shanghaiist, a manager from one of the restaurants didn’t exactly give a ringing endorsement: “Their skills are somewhat limited. They couldn’t pour water for customers, nor could they take orders.” In fact, the sheer amount of blunders caused by the robots forced two of the restaurants to close completely. Considering the recent firings of robots across the retail, security, and food service industries, we at the very least know our automated counterparts aren’t completely immune to unemployment. While this type of technology will obviously continue to improve, it’s safe to say that certain sectors of labor will, for the time being, continue to be occupied by humans. ■
innovator profile
Seeking Truth In The Era Of Fake News By Anthony Elio
How Snopes Founder David Mikkelson went from writing about urban legends to keeping the news media accountable. Ingesting Coca-Cola and Pop Rocks at the same time will kill you. Gas station patrons are being pricked by HIV-infected needles at the pump. Applying lip balm to a Scantron test will give you a perfect score. There’s a good chance that, at one time or another, you have heard and possibly even believed some of these urban legends. Popular in email chains and everyday conversation alike, these are the types of rumors that grow for years without being properly dispelled. This is where Snopes comes in. Launched in 1994, Snopes.com has been the renowned online hub for separating fact from fiction. And, despite being nearly 25 years old, the website is more relevant than ever, investigating the validity of stories in our current political climate. We spoke with the website’s founder David Mikkelson about the website’s early beginnings, how the site has evolved over time in the era of “fake news,” and his personal favorite story that turned out to be true. Innovation & Tech Today: Snopes started all the way back in 1994. Could you tell me a bit about how the website started? David Mikkelson: I used to participate in some of the text-based newsgroups on the internet, one of which was about urban legends. I actually started going out and going to libraries and digging up old material to actually look into and write about various rumors. When the first graphical browser came out from Mozilla, I kind
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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SPRING 2018
of created this little corner where I started writing up initially Disney-related legends. It kind of quickly became the go-to place where people on the internet sent anything they encountered that was questionable, so we ended up doing a lot of hoaxes and scams and crime warnings, like the needles on the gas pumps. Eventually, politics caught up with the internet. They figured out how to use that to their advantage, so that’s kind of a lot of what occupies us at the moment. I&T Today: What have been the biggest changes since the website launched? DM: Well, I think the most recent big change that’s affected things is that individual partisans started using the internet for politics. People arguing about supporting their side or another, and then eventually political campaigns caught on to using the internet and particularly social media. But, with the last election cycle, we added the “politics as profit,” where you have these Macedonian teenagers and “fake news” purveyors, and everybody figuring out that they could actually make money by spreading mostly fake political stuff, or just hyper partisan or highly slanted political stuff, which kind of really skewed the sum of the information that’s out there. And so, that’s led to the whole “fake news” phenomenon that’s obsessed everybody over
the last year or so. I mean, initially, before the election, we were using “fake news” pretty narrowly just to describe the sites that were putting up the stuff that was outrageously fake that didn’t have anything to do with politics, like “Woman Gives Birth To Litter of Puppies in David Mikkelson (opposite page) has been sifting out fake news for almost 25 years. His website Snopes looks at serious and silly alike, including the rumor that mixing Coke and Pop Rocks will kill you.
“ So, it kind of created problems where the audience’s perception of an urban legend was very different than what it actually had been.” Elevator” or something. And it’s taken a very political and profit-driven turn since then. When we started, we were writing about urban legends, which are a particular type of folklore and have a particular structure and format. But people just started using that term to mean basically, “Oh, that didn’t happen. That’s an urban legend.” So, it kind of created problems where the audience’s perception of an urban legend was very different than what it actually had been. And it’s kind of the same thing with “fake news,” where it was originally applied to this kind of narrow niche. And now, it’s expanded to basically anything that anyone up to and including the President of the United States doesn’t believe or want to believe. I&T Today: How do you feel about the current state of distrust when it comes to news media? DM: A lot of people seem to be under the illusion that there was a golden age of
journalism where reporters offered nothing but facts and that was it. And that isn’t really true. I mean, our history is full of yellow journalism and planted reporting and people not thoroughly investigating stories because it would make them actually less interesting than the truth. So, there never was such a golden age. I&T Today: Was there anything on the site that you were amazed to find out was true? DM: Years ago, there was a really humorous narrative about a group of FBI agents who had supposedly taken over a psychiatric hospital for some sort of investigation and were trying to order pizza delivery and were trying to convince an incredulous pizza restaurant that, “We need eight pizzas delivered to the psychiatric hospital, and we’re all FBI agents here, really, and none of us have cash. Will you take a check?” The kind of thing that was very funny but had no source or origin attached to it, and you think somebody just made this up. But in that particular case, there was enough context in it to figure out that
if it had happened, it was something that would have happened in the San Diego area based off the name of the hospital. So, I just sent a routine inquiry to the FBI office in San Diego expecting I’m not going to hear back because they have more important things to do. And actually, several weeks later, long after I’d forgotten about it, I got a letter in the mail, not email, an actual letter, from an agent who had been with the San Diego office and had since been transferred elsewhere who was the agent in charge of that investigation. And [he] said, “Yes, it was all true.” That they had shut down the hospital, or taken it over to do a forensic accounting based on a Medicare fraud investigation. But they did eventually get their pizza. ■ Volodymyrkrasyuk | Dreamstime.com
SPRING 2018 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY
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Getty Images/iStockphoto
CONNECTED CAR
THE AUTOMOTIVE CYBERSECURITY DILEMMA By Michael Coates
Everything We Want Out of Automotive Vehicles Makes Us More Vulnerable
It’s a given that the modern automobile is becoming a computer on wheels. The 100 million lines of code found in the various computer systems within a modern vehicle validate that assessment. That means, like a computer, they are vulnerable to hacks from malicious outsiders. Of course, rebooting a computer is just annoying. Losing control of your car while driving down the freeway is another issue entirely. The accelerated development of autonomous cars, which by definition are filled with more connected technology than a dozen iPads, has upped the ante. The vulnerable systems, which include sensors, processors, various communications applications, and control systems, open multiple entry points for hackers. On top of this, the connections with other vehicles, the roadway, infrastructure, and mapping systems that are critical to self-driving cars add to the points of entry. Finally, once a hacker gains access to the control systems, he can affect the vehicle’s speed, steering, and braking.
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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SPRING 2018
These are cars that must be connected to the environment around them and to the cloud that aids their attempt to replicate a human driver’s brain. They have to transmit terabytes of data through the delicate nervous system of wired and wireless connections to make everything work seamlessly. Every connection, even those that may not leave the car, creates a potential point of vulnerability. This is further complicated as each new generation of software is introduced (remember, these vehicles are working on a Silicon Valley development timeline measured in weeks as opposed to the traditional automotive cycles that run into years.) All of these are known problems and the automotive and technology industries have spent millions trying to deal with these security issues. It’s an open question whether they’re getting ahead of the problem.
The Bad News: Hackers Are Good So here we are in 2018—automotive hacking has become more ubiquitous. The cars are more
complex, which seems to present more of a challenge to the hacker community. It’s been more than two years since some white hat (good guy) hackers took over control of a Jeep cruising down the road at 70 mph to demonstrate the vulnerability of that car’s system. More than a million cars were recalled to install a new security patch after that. Hacks to the sophisticated Tesla system (which employs over-the-air updates or OTA) have included a relatively simple demonstration of stealing the vehicle by hacking into the owner’s cellphone. The pitch was simple— download this software to get a free hamburger at your favorite drive-through. However, now along for the ride is malware that allows external access to your cell phone and your car. The features dangled by Tesla and other cars for their owners, such as Autopilot, Wi-Fi, and LTE internet connectivity (and OTA), are creating more connections within and without the car. Love your SiriusXM connection? There’s another.
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CONNECTED CAR One of the companies focusing on helping plug these potential leaks sums it up: “Connected and autonomous vehicles require some of the most complex software ever developed, creating a significant challenge for automakers, who must ensure the code complies with industry and manufacturer-specific standards while simultaneously battle-hardening a very large and tempting attack surface for cybercriminals,” said BlackBerry Executive Chairman and CEO John Chen.
a comprehensive cybersecurity solution,” said Olivier Rabiller, Honeywell Transportation Systems president and CEO.
sharing information with the Department of Homeland Security. The philosophy is “one company’s detection is another’s prevention.”
The Problem is Well-Defined. The Solution? A Work in Progress.
Clearly, they have to step up because of what they see in the field:
Defining the problem is relatively easy for an array of companies now aligned as the good guys riding to the rescue:
The auto industry’s point person/organization is Auto-ISAC (Information Sharing and Analysis Centers), a group formed with government support to share information about cyber and physical threats and ways to combat them. The group has set up a 24/7 warning system and protocols for sharing information and best practices for dealing with intrusions.
“There are more than a dozen clearly defined attack surfaces that can provide points of entry for hacking into a passenger vehicle, and the number is growing fast. We are supporting our OEM customers with our differentiated software platform to address the cybersecurity challenge inherent to connected and autonomous vehicle development. We are developing a network of partners and collaborating specifically with LGE to ease the integration work for our customers and provide
The situation is pretty clear. Automotive connected system developers work in “bestcase” scenarios, which allows them to build the most interesting and useful applications for the modern car. That leaves industry to clean up.
The broader goal of the group is to develop a “cybersecurity culture” at auto companies and suppliers, one where cybersecurity becomes part of the life cycle of vehicle development and testing. They’re two years into a program using a secure portal to report and discuss threats,
■M obile apps used to control car features (like remote start) are proliferating and can expose data and vehicle functions if they’re not properly secured. ■A pps can now be downloaded to your car’s infotainment system, potentially including embedded malware. ■O n-Board Diagnostic (OBD) dongles are harder to get to (typically, you have to be in the car), but they provide access to the critical CAN bus that controls the car’s operating functions. ■K ey fobs that use a signal to open car doors are vulnerable to hacking, giving access to the vehicle. These attacks are coming from a variety of sources—nation-states, criminals, and malicious “hacktivists.” The goals range from stealing
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objects in a car to car theft to holding the vehicle hostage for ransom. Another potential is absconding with personal information that might be loaded into your car’s advanced systems, such as credit card information or other personal data. Look a short distance into the future and you could imagine criminals redirecting self-driving cars to a local chop-shop or sending a ransom note to the owner, asking “if they ever want to see their car again.”
thank this army of diligent stewards trying to build a system that not only works to give you the great features you expect, but protects the privacy of your data and isolates you from intruders.
Stop This—I Want to Get Off
Companies like Argus, an Israeli-based tech security company, make it clear that there are no 100 percent secure guarantees. That said, their products are being used by a variety of auto companies and suppliers around the globe. The different elements of the system defend the infotainment and/or telematics systems from
This all sounds pretty bleak, but there are methods of prevention—and they are working. Like many operations in the broader security field, you only hear about failures while the successes are happening silently in the background. If you or your friends haven’t had your car hacked, you can
As LG and Honeywell outlined, they’re focused on “next generation” cybersecurity solutions that combine “gateway” protection along with threat monitoring that secures hardware from external attacks.
malware, protect the electronic control units (ECUs) from inside or outside attacks, and secure the in-vehicle network. One positive glimpse of the future took place during the media preview of the Los Angeles Auto Show last year. A room full of more than one hundred 20- and 30-somethings sat around tables in teams of six or eight. It was the Hackathon, sponsored by Honda, challenging the teams to build mobility apps to help modern drivers navigate the city of Los Angeles. Those same coding skills are going to help some of the folks in that room join industry efforts to build more secure networks inside and outside of the car. These coders know what they want and they know how to protect it. That’s our hope for the future. ■
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Brick by Brick Israel’s Cybersecurity Powerhouse “ Israel is blessed with many opponents, and as such it developed core competencies mostly in the defense sector in order to be able to protect itself” – Dudu Mimran, CTO of the Cyber Security Research Center at Ben-Gurion University
By Alex Moersen
After months of burrowing through various channels, the computer worm, codename “Olympic Games,” finally began to fulfill its goal: disrupt Iran’s nuclear development by shutting down uranium centrifuges. In July 2009, a computer engineer from Neda, which designed and installed control systems for the energy industries of Iran, complained on a Siemens online forum that his workers were having trouble with their machines. When they would attempt to run the Windows-based Siemens program that controlled their centrifuges, the computers would produce an error message. The engineer suspected a virus spread via USB but was unable to find any malware in their system. His suspicions, however, were spot on. He had just discovered the initial evidence of the world’s first cyber weapon. In the month that followed, 328 centrifuges went offline in Iran, rising to 984 by November.
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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SPRING 2018
By the beginning of 2010, centrifuges were failing at an unprecedented rate, resulting in a 30 percent loss. The cause was a complete mystery until June 2010, when the cybersecurity firm Belarus was recruited to investigate a seemingly unrelated incident: computer crashes at a variety of Iranian industrial companies. After some investigation, researchers found a handful of malicious files that were interfering with the Siemens program. Stuxnet, as the 500-kilobyte worm was eventually named, has been shrouded in mystery as its sophistication points to high-level organization and funding. But no nation-state has taken credit for the attack. One of the primary suspects, however, is Israel. While Israel has long been ahead of the curve when it comes to cybersecurity, the Stuxnet attack brought cyber weapons to the forefront of international concern. Other nations began to
update their defenses for the cyber age, while Israel simply continued maintaining and improving upon their already sturdy cyber defense sector. Since the 1990s, Israel has been building their powerhouse, one that has changed the way the world views warfare.
History Dmitry Adamsky, in his 2017 report “The Israeli Odyssey toward its National Cyber Security Strategy,” cites two major events that brought cybersecurity into the spotlight: the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (1995) and the terror attacks on 9/11 (2001). Although neither event was related to IT specifically, both events were colossal intelligence blunders, forcing Israeli intelligence to begin expecting the unexpected. These efforts motivated the government to take seriously potential cyber risks and accelerate the tempo of their cyber defense industry.
Dreamstime.com
In 2002, the first landmark in Israel’s cyber odyssey came in the form of the Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) arrangement. According to Adamsky, the government tasked the National Security Council to outline strategies for emerging risks, resulting in Special Resolution B/84 focused on the protection of computerized systems. This became one of the first national cybersecurity policies in the world. While the state was bolstering its cyber defense for the new millennium, entrepreneurs saw an emerging market. Dudu Mimran, CTO of the Cyber Security Research Center at Ben-Gurion University, describes the 1990s and 2000s entrepreneurial engagement into cybersecurity. “Back then, companies like Check Point were the pioneers of the field and in a way presented a dream to entrepreneurs in Israel,” Mimran explains. “Once taking into account the entrepreneurial gene that most Israelis share, the
emergence of Israel as a cyber powerhouse was inevitable.” This new national interest in cybersecurity not only led to increased governmental focus on national defense, but it also acted as an incubator for startups. Eventually, in an effort to expand cybersecurity policy into the realms of education, R&D, security, and economic development, the state created the Israel National Cyber Bureau (INCB) in 2011. The goal of the INCB was to maintain Israel as a global cyber-power, while also achieving economic, technological, and diplomatic benefits. In 2015, the newly created National Cyber Security Authority was charged with publishing a National Cyber Security Strategy.
Israel’s Current Cybersecurity Strategy One of the easiest ways to understand the three layers of Israel’s strategy is by imagining its
cyber organizations as parts of a human body defending against disease and injury and the state as healthcare providers. The first layer of the strategy is “robustness,” referring to the defense sector’s capacity to perform efficiently and contain national cyber threats. This layer is highly preventative, acting as the state’s immune system. In order to ensure that the immune system is running at peak performance, vaccinations and a healthy lifestyle are necessary, meaning that organizations must maintain cyber immunity by constantly updating their technologies and bureaucratic procedures. The second layer is “resilience,” referring to the state’s capacity to both deal with attacks as they come and regain normal function after the fact. Per the analogy, this layer can be viewed as what happens when a person breaks a bone. Whether the injury was avoidable or not, the body must work to heal the bone, regain normal function,
SPRING 2018 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY
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A Legal Look At Social Media Bots By Andrew L. Rossow, Esq.
Examining the world of social media bots through a legal lens In the world of social media, having a large number of followers or subscribers is everything. But what happens when the accounts you follow are actually purchasing these followers, and not truly earning them? What happens when quantity starts to diminish the quality of the content being shared? Companies like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook have been experiencing the effects of a new social media weapon that allows users to grow their following base to the thousands within minutes. Is Social Media Becoming a “Pay to Play” Battlefield? Devumi, a company that offers services to help increase one’s social media reach, has been accused of selling social media “bots,” specifically as it pertains to the Twitter platform, to businesses, celebrities, politicians, and other influencers to help increase their following and popularity. The company is under investigation by the New York Attorney General for identity theft of real-time accounts. Bots are fake social media accounts, designed to help the user perform actions such as liking, commenting, and following other accounts through automation. The bot is able to autolike, auto-follow, and even auto-comment on posts that fit within its specified parameters, based off the use of hashtags or content filtering posts. And this happens instantaneously. While Devumi isn’t the only company providing such services, social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram are aware of the issue, catching 6.4 million bots a week, coming out to be almost half a million bots a day. “[These] tactics used by [companies like]
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Devumi’s emphasis on producing social media bots to create fake accounts has landed it in the New York Attorney General’s investigatory doghouse. (Getty Images/iStockphoto / Screenshot I&T Today )
Devumi on our platform and others…violate our policies and are unacceptable to us,” announced the Twitter PR team. In an attempt to grow a larger following, many developing social media users purchase fake followers from a variety of bot makers across the world, hence the strange usernames, pictures, and information (or lack thereof). These accounts, however, are copies of real-life accounts, only slightly altered in image, name, and content. Once acquired, they are marketed to users worldwide seeking to increase their reach.
Is This the New Digital “Lemon Law?” But is purchasing popularity online against the law? It depends. This is a new type of cybercrime that’s marketed towards millennial users and a younger audience. There are arguments on both sides. There are three parties here: the bot makers, the companies purchasing the bots, and lastly, the consumer. This is a gray area because, technically, there isn’t an actual victim to this activity. From the seller’s perspective (bot makers and businesses), they are entering into a contract to purchase accounts with the understanding they
“ It can replicate a message [an infinite] number of times, the more times you see it, the more likely you are to believe it.
Getty Images/iStockphoto
aren’t necessarily legitimate accounts, and are getting what they paid for. In contrast, from the consumer’s perspective, you have the purchaser who wants to increase their social media reach instantaneously and is willing to pay for it. On the other end, you have real-life followers who are loyal to brands, products, and services, including certain public figures and celebrities, and believe their following is legitimate. It makes it look like the individual is at the top of their game when, in reality, it’s the exact opposite. What Do Social Media Platforms Have to Say? Many platforms are coming out with statements and amending their policies to include the prohibition of using these bots. Instagram, for example, provides that the use of bots violates the API Terms of its platform. In the past year, Twitter has pledged to crack down on how it enforces its policies as it pertains to hate, violence, harassment, and now, bots. Some states, like New York, criminalize and codify behavior like this. Under New York law,
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both the company selling the bots and the person purchasing the bots may be subject to deceptive trade practices, which is prohibited. What you have here is a public figure or a business with some reputation presenting themselves in such a manner that the consumer, customer, or fan finds attractive. The reliance on the veracity and reputation of that product, service, or personality is what drives that particular account to grow in popularity.
with the purpose of influencing the 2016 Election and other campaign activities.
“They can create accounts that look like you and talk like you, which makes you more likely to believe it,” says Clint Watts with the Foreign Policy Research Institute. “It can replicate a message [an infinite] number of times, the more times you see it, the more likely you are to believe it. [Consequently], it can create false worlds in the social media space.”
A Follow Earned is a Follow Kept Popularity across the board comes at a cost. There is no shortcut when it comes to quality. Success in social media is driven by your reputation and your product/service—you can’t put a price tag on a valid customer base. Each real customer, patron, and follower is valuable for their own specific reason.
It’s a slick tactic capitalizing on a bot customer’s desire to make a name for themselves. It’s enticing to criminals because of the difficulty of getting caught. Over the past two years, these bots have made political headlines with claims that countries like Russia have utilized them
In the digital world, utilizing these bots could cost you more than your reputation. Your privacy, identity, and wallet may also be compromised. It takes a lifetime of hard work to build up a reputation, but only a moment to destroy your identity. You choose. ■
This year, celebrities such as Clay Aiken, Baroness Martha Lane-Fox, Lisa Rinna, and even Paul Hollywood were all revealed to have purchased fake followers through these bots. Investigations into the social media black market revealed that these celebrities and public figures are among the 200,000 customers who have signed up for similar services.
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The Octagon Gets an Upgrade Going Inside the UFC’s Performance Institute “It’s like what Drago did in Rocky IV.” I’m surprised he makes the reference – not that it isn’t relevant. What James Kimball is describing is a device called the PowerKube, a small black pad that measures an athlete’s striking power. A few months back, UFC heavyweight Francis Ngannou set a record on the machine with a score of 129,161, a force which UFC President Dana White equated to “getting hit by a Ford Escort.” As its vice president of operations, Kimball oversees the UFC’s new Performance Institute in Las Vegas. This sprawling 30,000-square-foot facility – recently hallowed by its measurement of the world’s hardest punch – also happens to be where we’re having lunch and discussing Rocky IV. What gets me is that he’s alluding to scenes centering on the film’s antagonist, the stiff-lipped Soviet caricature Ivan Drago, who uses high-tech training methods to get an edge over his opponents. While our hero lifts stones, pulls sleds, and climbs mountains in a leather jacket, Drago exercises on steel contraptions surrounded by blinking switchboards and notejotting scientists. It’s a classic John Henry vs. The Machine storyline, with science and technology depicted as the enemy of the true sport. Just so, in the end our heroic Luddite eventually wins out against the techies. However, after years of evolution in athletic training and equipment, it appears that, in spite of all the narrative romance, Rocky was wrong; Drago’s camp knew exactly what they were doing. The UFC is convinced that technologically informed training is the future of combat sports
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By P.K. French
and has spared no expense to that end, investing $14 million to construct the institute (also called the PI). The site evinces a marriage of technology and what A.J. Liebling dubbed “the sweet science,” with everything from hypoxic labs to cryotherapy chambers on full display. “We want to put objectivity in the sport of MMA,” Duncan French tells me after Kimball introduces him as the PI’s vice president of performance. “It takes away the guesswork … We can really guide our athletes through their performance.” Together, French and Kimball escort me to a pair of frosted glass doors that look like they’re fifteen feet tall. It feels like I’m entering a laboratory, and that’s not too far from the truth.
Lasers and Liquid Nitrogen The first thing we come to is a small room filled with machines that look like they belong in Alien. The tall black cylinder in front of me is a cryotherapy pod, French explains. Using liquid nitrogen, the pod applies intense cold to an athlete’s entire body, with temperatures potentially reaching -320 degrees F. “Cryotherapy is a regenerative strategy,” French says, “basically resetting the brain and some of the muscle tissues – using extreme cold to offset sensations around pain and tissue damage.” It sounds outlandish, but French is quick to remind me that people have been using cryotherapy for ages. There’s evidence, for instance, that the ancient Egyptians were using cold to treat inflammation and pain as far back as 2500 BCE. And many are familiar with frozen peas as the homespun analgesic for a black eye. However, only recently whole body cryotherapy has begun to take off in America, with numerous athletes swearing by the procedure. “Just a three-
The UFC’s new emphasis on technologically enhanced training has resulted in the creation of the $14 million UFC Performance Institute, or PI.
minute exposure in something like this can be really valuable in terms of recovery,” French insists. He adds that much of the new tech the UFC is deploying in the PI focuses on recovery and healing, crucial fixtures for a sport where you’re almost guaranteed to get hurt each time you compete. He segues, turning to what appears to be a fancy tanning bed. “Unfortunately, it’s not,” he says, opening the top door of the device and filling the room with red light. “It’s a low-level laser light therapy pod. This uses infrared light to penetrate deep into
The UFC Performance Institute is a top-rate training facility as evidenced by its equipment and fetching exterior design.
the muscle tissue, where muscle damage is, and that promotes circulation.”
at me and with a wry grin responds, “As you should be.”
As with whole body cryotherapy, infrared has recently been trending as a high-tech means to treat injury, with many citing the laser light’s capacity for increasing nitric oxide levels, which can positively affect an athlete’s blood flow. “This is the first unit on the market, in terms of whole body laser light therapy, so this is very new technology,” French says proudly, before we make our way down the hall to where one of the UFC’s greatest brawlers of all time is waiting for us.
The PI wouldn’t be complete without a gym. Though “gym” doesn’t really seem to cut it. The second floor of the institute consists of wrestling mats, sled tracks, reinforced padded walls, and punching bags of every shape and size, along with a full-size ring and Octagon. And all of these items are accompanied by some sort of technological enhancement, whether it’s motion analysis cameras or sensors in the floor that measure the impact of your feet when you jump. There’s even a hypoxic room that can simulate the conditions of altitude training, mimicking oxygen levels of up to 22,000 feet above sea level. “That’s the equivalent of Everest base camp,” French notes.
Scales of Power “I’m suddenly terrified,” I say, looking at UFC Hall of Famer Forrest Griffin as he stands in front of the PI’s Octagon. I’m only half-joking. I knew Griffin was a big guy – six foot three, with an extensive record as a light heavyweight. But there’s a kind of boyishness about him (accentuated by his flared ears and constant sarcasm) that distracts from his stature – until he’s right next to the cage, that is. He looks
Of course, there’s also the PowerKube Kimball and I were talking about earlier – fixed on an adjustable rack against a wall opposite the Octagon. I think of the Rocky scenes and just have to try it out for myself. I put on some trunks and square myself to the pad as Griffin adjusts it. “You look like a dork,” he says.
I hit the pad for a while and start to work up a sweat. It’s occurred to me that I’m probably getting a glimpse of the gym of the future. After all, many of the techniques and equipment of today’s average Joes were once considered cutting edge, right there in the domain of Drago. Millions of people are already wearing little exercise scientists on their wrists. Furthermore, as I strike the pad and watch the data pour in, it doesn’t feel like I’m losing anything; there’s no spiritual loss from exercising in a laboratory. It feels perfect for the sport, in fact. If anything, I’m probably trying harder, working on my score as if I were in a video game. Eventually, I surprise myself by scoring a 79,000 with a roundhouse kick. Hardly makes up for all the money I’ve spent on 10 years of karate lessons, but I’ll take it. I joke around with Griffin and the others as we head out of the gym, passing recovery machines and scanners. Smiling, Griffin turns to me: “You still look like a dork.”
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The 360 Degrees of Tiger Woods
By Robert Yehling
Tiger Woods is arguably the greatest athlete of the past 50 years. Since famously hitting balls on The Mike Douglas Show at age 2, and then winning all 33 junior golf tournaments he entered as a six-year-old, he has won 79 PGA Tour titles and more than 100 events worldwide, including 14 majors. Tiger Woods / / By Jeff Benedict & Armen Keteyian / /(Simon & Schuster: $30.00-hardcover)
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Jeffrey Shaw
Tiger Woods in the grasses at Muirfield Golf Course in Gullane, Scotland before the 2013 British Open. Karen Foley | Dreamstime.com
John P. Filo/CBS
Jeff Benedict
Armen Keteyian
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His impact stretches far beyond a golf course. Since Woods turned pro in 1995, TV ratings, fan bases, and corporate interest have skyrocketed. PGA Tour annual purses have risen from $67 million to $363 million, with the average event purse jumping from $1.5 million to $7.4 million. Likewise, corporate investment in the sport has quintupled, and the once lily-white PGA Tour now features dozens of golfers of color and a program celebrating cultural diversity. There are now more than 400 multimillionaire touring pros, up from approximately 75 in 1995. Michael Jordan may have boosted the NBA, but Tiger made golf what it is today. Woods also experienced the greatest fall from the highest height in recent sports history. His problems with womanizing, prescription drugs and serious back and leg injuries led to a “tragedy befitting a Shakespearean character,” noted Armen Keteyian, co-author of Tiger Woods. “He was falling into the same rabbit hole as
other child prodigies who didn’t make it out — Prince, Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley. But he’s pulled out of it.” Now, he is mounting a comeback few thought possible, after several surgeries that included a spinal fusion, usually the kiss of death for an athlete — especially a golfer who torques his back like Woods does with his ferocious swing. No one imagined in January that Woods would come into The Masters as a favorite, but guess what? Tiger is back. So is his story — all of it. Such is the basis for Tiger Woods, the blockbuster biography of the world’s most famous and enigmatic athlete. Keteyian, the longtime 60 Minutes contributing correspondent, joined his co-author from the bestselling college football expose The System, Jeff Benedict, to write a definitive, meticulously crafted 360-degree profile of a man who has taken great measures to zealously guard his image and private life.
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Henderson County
Small Mountain Town Features Nationally-Known Craft Spirits Hendersonville, a Blue Ridge Mountain town in North Carolina, is home to two of the nation’s largest producers of craft spirits. Bold Rock Hard Cider, a leader in the craft cider industry, has its largest production facility in Hendersonville, capitalizing on the ready supply of apples in the area. Henderson County is the nation’s seventh-largest apple-producing county. Bold Rock welcomes visitors with tours and tastings daily, as well as regular live music in the cider garden and a food truck serving North Carolina barbecue. Meanwhile, craft beer aficionados flock to the East Coast headquarters of Sierra Nevada for tours of the expansive brewhouse, followed by flights and tapas in the beer garden. Sierra Nevada spared little expense when creating this Taj Mahal for beer lovers in 2015. Both Sierra Nevada and Bold Rock Hard Cider are located on the Hendersonville Cheers! Trail, which includes six breweries, three cideries, and two wineries. Flat Rock Ciderworks serves small-batch cider in the heart of downtown Hendersonville, and Appalachian Ridge Artisan Cider pours crisp European-style cider from a restored barn in the middle of an orchard. Southern Appalachian Brewery in Hendersonville’s historic Depot District names its brews after local wildlife, such as the Black Bear Stout and Copperhead Amber Ale. Burntshirt Vineyards also pays homage to the area’s apple heritage by producing an apple wine, along with a variety of awardwinning dry and semi-sweet vintages. ■ To request a free guide to all the stops on the Hendersonville Cheers! Trail, go to www.VisitHendersonvilleNC.org or call (800) 828-4244.
With 24/7 streaming, High Tech Hunts allows users to check in on their nature compound at any time.
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The Nature Connection
Why nature live streams are the perfect midday pick-me-up For some, with the proper transportation and gear, the great outdoors has never been closer. However, for others, work schedules and inexperience can act as prominent and valid deterrents. But, even for those who feel trapped at work, nature has never been more accessible. While it’s long been known that even a brief nature walk can reduce stress, it’s recently been found that just watching outdoor-related content on your computer can boost emotions. A joint study between the University of California, Berkeley, and the BBC Worldwide Global Insights Team found that watching nature-themed content “inspired significant increases in feelings of awe, contentedness, joy, amusement, and curiosity,” and reduced “feelings of tiredness, anger and stress.” For this reason, High-Tech Hunts has worked hard to make the outdoors as accessible as possible. The outdoor company, which organizes hunting trips for all ages and abilities, allows users to watch live streams of their compound. Not only does High-Tech Hunts assist people in getting outdoors, but they also bring the outdoors directly to you through their live streams. Their streams operate 24/7, with both night vision and regular cameras, and allow users to follow deer throughout the compound. So, whether you have a hankering for the outdoors or you’re just feeling overwhelmed at work, finding a nature live stream might be the exact medicine you need. ■ To watch High-Tech Hunts’ Live Streams, visit http://hightechhunts.com/stream.php
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GoPro Hero 5 Session - Incredibly lightweight and small with the ability to shoot 4K video, the GoPro Hero 5 Session is an incredibly simple way to record high-quality action video. Compatible with over 30 different mounts, the GoPro Hero 5 is the greatest way to capture all your adventures. $199
Blast Golf Swing Analyzer – Ideal for improving your swing, the Blast Golf Swing Analyzer fits perfectly on your club and sends analytics directly to your smart device. Used by over 200 professional golfers, the Golf Swing Analyzer can help you take your game to the next level. $150
Soul Flex 2 - Well-designed and functional, the Soul Flex 2 headphones make sure you can rock out in style at the gym. Thanks to the sweatproof design of the Flex 2, even the most strenuous workout won’t interrupt your exercise playlist. $30
Razor Hovertrax 2.0 – Fun and functional, the Razor Hovertrax 2.0 is the ideal hoverboard for riding around the cul de sac or a quick trip to the store. Able to go 8 miles per hour, the Hovertrax 2.0 lets you go forward (or backward) in style. $459
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Pau Hana Bimini SUP – Designed to be the ultimate board for photographers, support crew, and fisherman, this large SUP is as portable as it is powerful. The SUP can be easily deflated and rolled up as well as handle a four-stroke outboard motor. For conditions rough and clear, day trips or multi-day journeys, the Bimini is perfect for your next aquatic adventure. $2,599
The Barnacle+ by Speaqua Sound – The world’s first functionally waterproof, floatable speaker with 4GB of built-in memory, the Barnacle+ was designed with outdoor enthusiasts in mind. Now, you can store up to 1,000 songs directly onto the device, allowing you to take your tunes on any aquatic adventure while leaving your phone behind. $64
Samuel Hubbard Uptown Maverick – Comfort and practicality merge perfectly in the Uptown Maverick. With glove-leather lining and custom Vibram soles, these boots are stylish, durable, and, most importantly, comfortable. With a triple-density memory foam insole, these boots will keep you moving around town. $265
StarkBoard – The first of its kind, this skateboard comes with intelligent weight and motion sensors, propelling you forward with just the slightest tilt of your body. A speed control monitoring system tracks all body movements and continuously assists while riding. With a top speed of 20mph, the StarkBoard is one of the coolest (and most convenient) ways around town. $599
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Regain Your Senses We look at how new technologies are changing the lives of people with disabilities
Technology has had a long and notable history in assisting people with disabilities. In fact, one of the oldest known medical devices was a 3,000-year-old prosthetic toe found on the mummy of an Egyptian woman who used it to help her walk. Today, assistive technologies are built into nearly all smartphones to allow hearing and visually impaired users to operate them. And medical technology is reaching a point where patients can actually have restored vision, hearing, and movement. Thanks to advanced implantable devices called neuroprosthetics, what was once thought to be a miracle of biblical proportions is starting to become a reality. In this feature, we’ll be looking at some of the amazing technologies that are helping the 53 million Americans with disabilities live more comfortably. We’ll also reveal some of the cutting-edge neuroprosthetic devices that are restoring sight, hearing, and mobility to a select few.
Hearing One of the most common medical devices for the hearing impaired are, of course, hearing aids. Though they have been around for over 70 years, hearing aids are still continually upgraded with innovative features. One of these is wireless Bluetooth integration into smartphones, computers, and other devices, which allows users to enjoy music and identify sounds with better clarity, as well as adjust the hearing aid’s settings using a smartphone app. And, while most hearing aids are basically a small sound amplifier, Earlens has developed a hearing aid that stimulates the eardrum using pulses of light instead of soundwaves. The result, the company claims, is a superior sound than what traditional hearing aids can achieve.
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MotionSavvy via Medgadget
By Scott Jung, Senior Editor of Medgadget
Technology has assisted people living with disabilities since the first prosthetics appeared 3,000 years ago. Today’s hottest aid is assistive technology, which utilizes smartphones and tablets to expand what is possible — sometimes overcoming the disabilities themselves.
For the hard of hearing who need to communicate over the phone or require video captioning, speech-to-text has improved dramatically over the years, thanks to advanced machine-learning technology similar to what you would find in Siri, Alexa, and other voiceactivated assistants. Automated, real-time voice recognition and transcription features are now built into many mobile devices, computers, and telephones. One company called MotionSavvy has developed a tablet computer that can interpret both speech and American Sign Language, allowing users who are both deaf and mute to communicate with one another.
One of the most advanced hearing devices is a neuroprosthetic called a cochlear implant. The cochlear implant is a surgically embedded electronic device that provides a sense of sound to a person who is significantly deaf or severely hard-of-hearing in both ears. In many of these patients, the eardrum is irreversibly damaged, and hearing aids consequently can provide little benefit since they are directed at the eardrum. A cochlear implant, on the other hand, bypasses the damaged part of the ear entirely by converting sound into electrical pulses that stimulate cells in the cochlea, a tiny, snail-shaped portion of the inner ear responsible for sending
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By Robert Yehling
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Imagine feeling overweight and unwell, and lacking energy and motivation. You can’t get started to do something about it, but the frustration of not feeling well and being out of shape mounts to the point where you need to act. Such was the dilemma facing Ian Gillman, who wanted a way to change his lifestyle while also removing the synthetic medicines and food preservatives from his system. He thought
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Intersect
that by getting into shape, eating wholesome foods, and treating his various health concerns through preventative medicine, he could not only slow the aging process, but make it a more enjoyable one. Gillman came across the Synergy Integrative Health and Medical Spa in Hallandale Beach, FL, a part of the Optimal Health MD Medical Center chain. Optimal Health is deeply rooted and firmly based in integrative, preventative, and functional medicine, focusing on optimizing overall health. They provide a variety of programs that include Naturopathic Medicine, IV Fusion Therapy, Fitness, Nutrition, and Weight Loss — all designed to
reduce the impact of premature aging, as well as help us live the fullest, healthiest lives possible. The approach draws from healthcare methods known for millennia the world over, but often brushed aside in today’s allopathic medicine rush to prescription medicines. It also focuses heavily on our food and environmental choices, two other major contributors to obesity, disease, and illness due to food preservatives, released chemicals, and other contributors. Over some time, Gillman worked with the Synergy Integrative Health and Medical Spa
staff to completely change his lifestyle. They started from the inside out, assessing his health status and lifestyle through lab testing. The lab tests, part and parcel of functional and preventative medicine, determine overall health condition, metabolic type, nutrition profile, food and chemical intolerances, hormone balance, and lifestyle condition. They pinpointed all of the contributing factors to Gillman’s unhealthiness, either removing or replacing each with a healthy alternative. The Synergy physicians treated Gillman by looking at his body as a whole, rather than focusing strictly on the symptoms. Their focus on reducing the effects of premature aging takes
them through all 360 degrees of the body’s life experience. Gillman was so taken by the benefits in his life that he became a spokesman for Synergy. Their approach not only addresses physical health, but also personal well-being. Stress, anxiety, hormonal balance, family history, and lifestyle are all evaluated, with changes made throughout to optimize our inner, spiritual, and emotional lives for greater joy and social harmony. Such programs as Healthy Aging, Longevity and Life Extension, Menopause and Andropause therapy, and various stress reduction techniques are used, including the highly touted Enhanced External Counter Pulsation Treatment, which
lowers the number and intensity of angina episodes. Spending time with functional and preventative medicine specialists is far different than a day at the doctor’s office. It can create a way of caring for ourselves that reduces healthcare costs, decreases our environmental footprint, greatly enhances our diet and fitness, and improves our often stressful lives.
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I&T Today Founding Editor Robert Yehling wrote about functional and preventative medicine in Beyond ADHD (Rowman Littlefield: 2017), co-authored with Jeff Emmerson.
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Sleep Sherpa For some, the thought of getting a good night’s sleep can be equally as daunting as the thought of climbing Mount Everest. Unfortunately, the feeling of anxiety around sleep can send the mind into a spiraling pit of worry and stop you from getting enough of what you need, what you are actually there to do… sleep! Continuing with the analogy of climbing that mountain, you wouldn’t get up one morning and simply grab your crampons and decide to “just do it.” You would consider the risks, the dangers, and your ultimate goal, taking a measured approach. Most importantly, you would need to be supported throughout the training and then the journey, being guided along in every step up to the summit. This is exactly what SOMNUVA does. It acts as your personal bedroom Sherpa, getting you from laying there in bed (at base camp if you will), and guiding you up the foothills to phase two rapid eye movement (REM), eventually reaching a point of mind relaxation where you dream and recall memories.
The next transition is the most difficult and indeed very similar to the physically demanding stages of Everest. As if going through the Valley of Silence and Lhotse Wall to the peak, sleep also needs expert guidance to traverse the three stages of non-REM (NREM). SOMNUVA is the first and only device that is able to take users through those cycles or ranges for a full night’s sleep.
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Staying Well in the Workplace According to the American Institute of Stress (AIS), in the U.S., an estimated one million workers are absent every day due to stress. Each year, around 550 million working days are lost, with over half of those absences being stress related. According to the same study, this unanticipated absenteeism is estimated to cost American companies $602 per worker per year. Not only is stress a business issue, but it’s a health issue as well. The AIS reports that 30 percent of workers suffer from stress-related back pain. Additionally, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), 40 percent of U.S. workers experience persistent stress in their daily lives. Thirty percent with daily stress have taken medication; 28 percent have had an anxiety or panic attack. So, how can the workplace be revitalized? Human Touch, a leading provider of massage chairs and innovative wellness products, believes the answer is implementing a wellness program that not only helps keep employees healthy, but also improves the bottom line of any business. In fact, Human Touch put massage chairs in the conference rooms of the Washington DC WeWork, a collaborative work space that is home to a wide variety of businesses, and tracked workplace improvement. They found that the previously underutilized conference rooms saw a 75 percent increase in usage. They also found that companies with effective health and productivity programs achieved 11 percent more revenue per employee and 28 percent higher shareholder return. The study shows how vital a healthy workplace truly is to both employee and company health. ■
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Health Tech
Creating A Cure By Damita Chambers & Everin Draper
Shutterstock via Bowie State University
Presented by
Just outside of Washington, DC, in Bowie, Maryland, Bowie State University is beginning to make major strides in drug discovery research. Not only is this raising the profile of Bowie State, but it is also helping Maryland continue to become a national player in the biotechnology industry. The faculty’s work ranges from pancreatic cancer intervention to researching cures for rare genetic diseases. With over 20 years of experience in synthetic medicinal chemistry, Dr. Eric Bonsu has now partnered with Dr. Anton Dormer from PepVax Inc., an early-stage biotech company, to apply its patented DNA immunotherapy SMARTmid to the treatment of metastatic pancreatic cancer. With the clear goal of reducing cancer and the likelihood of recurrence, SMARTmid is designed to boost the immune system and drive it to recognize tumors and destroy cancer cells. The urgency here is vital. According to the Hirshberg Foundation of Pancreatic Cancer Research, an estimated 55,440 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2018, potentially killing 91 percent of diagnosed patients within five years. On top of that, it is expected that pancreatic cancer will become the second-leading cause of cancer-related death in the U.S. by 2020, making Dr. Bonsu’s work critical to many patients’ futures. “It is significant that this revolutionary work on pancreatic cancer therapies is taking place at a university of our size,” said Dr. Bonsu. “Our students have access to scientists who are innovators in their fields and work on solutions to real-world challenges. The implications of what we are doing with Dr. Dormer and Pepvax, Inc. could provide hope to many through the development of novel cancer drug therapies.” Another Bowie State scientist is revolutionizing drug delivery by utilizing computer modeling to make predictions about which parts of the virus make good drug targets. Dr. Kari Debbink is working to identify vaccine
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Bowie State University’s work in areas from pancreatic cancer to researching cures for rare genetic diseases involves chemogenomics, molecular structure analysis, bioinformatics, new genetic markers, and a state-of-theart facility.
targets for noroviruses, which cause vomiting and diarrhea. Specifically, she is launching further study at Bowie State involving both modeling and testing predictions for the GII.17 norovirus, attempting to find the most efficient places to target the virus with protective antibodies. Additionally, she is collaborating with Dr. Vineet Menachery from the University of Texas-Medical Branch to identify important receptor binding sites for coronaviruses, including MERS and SARS. This work may be relevant in predicting which coronaviruses in animals might be able to infect humans. Two Bowie State researchers are combining the power of chemistry and genetics as they work to find cures to rare conditions that affect over 300 million people worldwide. Drs. Lucia Santacruz and Bradford Braden are working in collaboration with Bowie State Visiting Professor Raul Cachau from the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research and Dr. Marc Nicklaus from the National Cancer Institute. They are exploring novel approaches
to tackle rare diseases using chemogenomics, which uses chemical data, molecular structure analysis, bioinformatics, and machine learning tools to infer the occurrence of potential new genetic markers. Their initial work focuses on creatine transporter deficiency (CTD), which causes intellectual disabilities and some developing behavioral disorders, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or autistic behaviors. Drs. Santacruz and Braden use advanced chemogenomics to characterize fluorescent compounds that would easily and selectively bind the defective molecules responsible for CTD. Proper detection of CTD could help expand researchers’ knowledge of the condition and lead to the development of a cure. “With the help of our partners and visiting faculty, Bowie State is positioned to become a leader in drug discovery in the state of Maryland,” said Dr. Santacruz. “The potential for new breakthroughs is great. Our work could lay the foundation for finding therapies for CTD and other diseases caused by gene mutations.” ■
Nonstop Neil Patrick Harris By Anthony Elio
Photo NBC
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THE MULTIFACETED NEIL PATRICK HARRIS TALKS TECH, SUSTAINABILITY, STEM EDUCATION, AND HIS NUMEROUS PROJECTS.
James Brown notoriously earned himself the title of “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business.” However, actor, producer, Broadway star, author, social media icon, and host of game shows and awards ceremonies Neil Patrick Harris may be giving him a run for his money. In 2018 alone, Harris looks to host Genius Junior on NBC, star in the second season of Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, create content for his exclusive channel, and release the second novel in his Magic Misfits series. Harris is likely best known for his roles as Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother, the titular protagonist of Doogie Howser, M.D., and even himself in self-deprecating appearances in the Harold & Kumar film series. We were lucky enough to meet the hardworking Harris at CES 2018, where he discussed the debut of the IAm Neil Patrick Harris app on smart TVs thanks to a collaboration with Samba TV. During his panel, he touched on everything from autonomous vehicles to the pretentiousness of using the word “bifurcate.” In this exclusive interview, we discuss Harris’ unique approach to social media, his recent obsession with VR tech, and embracing his villainous side on camera.
Innovation & Tech Today: With millions of followers, you’ve pretty much mastered the art of social media. What makes your approach unique? Neil Patrick Harris: I’ve always felt with social media, at least from my perspective, it is more about authenticity than it is about gaining followers. I have always posted my own content, and not had my management team handle things that I reach out and say. That’s kind of allowed me to just be more frank and candid. I think that comes across when I’m looking at other people’s – when I’m scrolling through Instagram and I see someone, say, Chris Pratt. He’s just super authentic in what he does and it makes me more interested in the rest of his world, professional and personal, just because he seems like a regular person. That said, I think there is an element of responsibility that comes with it, because, at least as far as I’m concerned, I wanted people to be looking at my Instagram feed and be able to relate to it in some way. So, if I’m super political, or super opinionated in one way, I don’t want to drive away people that would otherwise maybe watch something that I’m in, simply because I’m posting my aggressive opinions about someone else. I quickly learned that it’s probably best, not to be centrist about it, but make sure you’re wording yourself in a way that speaks to your opinions and honors that people have different ones. I found that there’s a bit of a tipping point when you end up with a lot of followers. You have to be a little more cautious about what it is you say and how you say it. I&T Today: On the topic of social media, can you tell me a bit about your collaboration with the IAm app?
Joe Lederer / Netflix
NPH: Consolidating all of [social media] into one simple place just made a lot of sense, because if I’m interested in someone, say, Nick Jonas, I don’t have to go to Twitter, look at it, track him down, see what he said, and then go somewhere else to Instagram and do the same thing. I can just go to the one app, see it all, or even be notified when he sends stuff my way. Which is nice, for someone to have that opportunity if they want, if they’re interested in what I have to offer.
SPRING 2018 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY
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On his new show Genius Junior, Neil Patrick Harris can be seen cheering on and championing the power of youthful minds.
Evans Vestal Ward/NBC
And then, [they’ve] added live-streaming, which I’ve done a fair amount of, and it’s great! So I can take questions, and if I do, whoever is asking the question appears live and I can see them, and they can ask questions and we can shoot the breeze, and that’s great. For me, it’s a way to have an actual legitimate, authentic engagement whenever and wherever it seems appropriate. I&T Today: Speaking of the app, I know it’s on smart TVs now, so we basically have our own NPH channel. What can we expect to see on that? NPH: It can be whatever we see fit. I think it will be a great place where I can either provide content that I make exclusively for the channel: videos, or updates, or maybe things that I’ve been in, performances that I’ve done, any numbers of things. Or even opportunities to show people things that I think are cool, that are sort of in my wheelhouse. But actually, what’s more impressive, the technology exists now where on a smart TV, there will be a channel that feels like a regular network TV channel, and I’m
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sort of the content provider. I never imagined in my life I would find myself in that position. It will be eclectic, that’s for sure. I&T Today: We have all this amazing technology these days. Is there anything that’s captured your attention lately? NPH: I’ll tell you, my new thing right now that I’m so into is VR. Oh my God! I’m a games and puzzles dude, so I’m also simultaneously very into escape rooms. And I found my sweet spot because there’s a multitude of VR escape rooms. So I’m just pretty much walking around the same square in my basement, but it feels like I’m in a horror mansion, a murder mystery, stopping the apocalypse. I’m picking up flashlights, and finding keys, and being startled by zombies. I love it. I&T Today: Do you get into horror VR games at all? NPH: A little bit. I get scared easily (laughs). I don’t like when things just pop out at me and startle me for no reason. I really got freaked out by that. What was the one with the stuffed animals in the warehouse? Freddy Got Fingered?
No that was a movie. [Editor’s note: he’s discussing the horror game Five Nights at Freddy’s.] The very first time I had no idea what was happening, and all of a sudden I got attacked by some giant stuffed mascot bear, and I never did it again. So I’m better in the niche worlds where I can take my time and appreciate the landscapes, and marvel at the technology, but not feel like I’m about to get my throat slit. I&T Today: You’re going to be hosting the upcoming Genius Junior show. How do you believe the show will promote youth education? NPH: Well, that’s what I’m most excited about. We searched the country and we got these kids, and they can do the most impressive, almost freakish, things: spelling a very difficult word, but spelling it backwards, recalling which subway stop was missing on a map of the entire New York subway system, and which part of an airplane is incorrectly labeled. And it’s so gobsmackingly crazy exciting and entertaining to watch them do that, but then also value in celebrating what they do. And you watch it, like,
Genius Junior: Evans Vestal Ward/NBC Count Olaf: Joe Lederer / Netflix
After bursting onto the scene with Doogie Howser M.D., Harris has kept himself busy with a variety of roles, including the host of Genius Junior and the villainous Count Olaf in Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events..
“Holy Toledo,” feeling inspired to want to learn more. But, it’s a game show where people do unbelievable things. And these are actually things in the STEM conversation that you learn and get better at. I find it really celebratory and inspirational. And, I think that kids will respond to it, and parents as well, so it works in two ways for me. It’s really exciting to watch them do it. It’s remarkable that they can do it so quickly and so well, and yet it’s also something that, if you put your mind to it, you could actually do yourself. I&T Today: A Series of Unfortunate Events is back for another season. What did you originally do to prepare for the role of Count Olaf? NPH: Well, I read all of the books, the 13 books that Daniel Handler as Lemony Snicket himself wrote, because I knew we were digging into a series really true to that material. And then, in order to look like him, I have to do a lot of prosthetic makeup and change my appearance. I’ve been trying to keep as thin as possible. And, that’s been it: kind of embracing my inner awful. Which not many of us get to do and get paid for. Normally that’s one of those things you try to repress, right? I actually get to do it, so I’ve been having a blast. I&T Today: The series, I believe you have said, will conclude after season three. What are you going to miss most about playing that character?
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NPH: I always enjoy taking on the roles that are nothing like me. Because, I’m obviously not a villain in a hyper-fictionalized story, so my thought process is more complicated. I try to be conscientious as much as possible. I try to be considerate of others, but when you get to play someone that doesn’t do any of that, and with such joy, I think I’ll miss that. I’ll miss my inner “id” being able to act out. I&T Today: When we met at CES earlier this year, we briefly discussed the importance of being environmentally conscious. What is your advice on living sustainably? NPH: Well, I think it’s important to just be conscious of it all. We do what we can within the community. And you should recognize how much stuff you use and you go through, so you can try to be conscious of it. So I think just having an appreciation is the best step. Because then, once you start recognizing how much waste you use, or how much glass that you use, or how much a single person can consume, it will likely encourage you to bike more, and turn off lights. And respect that, although the world isn’t a small one, what happens in this 80 to 110 years will last a lot longer. And we all need to do our part to keep it thriving, right? I&T Today: You’ve hosted award shows, starred in television and movies, performed on Broadway, become an author. What other entertainment avenues would you like to explore?
NPH: Well, the biggest thing that I’m looking to do is start directing things. I really enjoy, and am appreciative that I get to, and have gotten to do, so many different random things. I have color on a palette, especially as an actor, and I think that, as I’m getting older, that I’m more interested in being a painter. And taking on longer lead jobs, of which I get to have my vision be kind of paramount. And so, I’m very much looking forward to that, to not be in a trailer waiting for someone to knock and tell me it’s time to shoot, but to actually be the guy saying what the shot should be, and what it should look like. Looking at the crew and then following something to its completion, as opposed to just acting. I&T Today: You’ve played so many iconic characters throughout the years. Which one do you most get recognized as in public? NPH: It’s almost always Barney Stinson, and that couldn’t make me happier. He’s the life of the party. He’s a sharp dresser. He’s delusional and voracious in his desire to have extraordinary adventures, and he’s always good for a round of drinks. He won’t pay for the drinks, but he certainly knows how to drink them. And yeah, people are drawn to him. And people say really nice things about the show and that character specifically, so it’s certainly better than someone recognizing you by laughing and pointing a finger at you. No one wants that. ■
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