Sophia Stuart
PCMag
Los Angeles, CA, United States
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Past articles by Sophia:
Aging Doesn't Have to Be Scary (Except if You're in Silicon Valley)
Author and activist Ashton Applewhite explains why everything we know about aging is flat out wrong, and why the tech industry needs to take note. → Read More
Which Coworking Space Is Best? Ask These 'Coworkies'
Pauline Roussel and Dimitar Inchev were never about the 9-to-5 grind, but life as a digital nomad can get lonely, so they started Coworkies, a global job board and networking site for freelancers. Find out what they learned by visiting 378 coworking spaces. → Read More
How This Robotic Leg Learned to Walk By Itself
Most robots have to be programmed to perform specific tasks. But two USC researchers built a robotic limb that can teach itself how to move through trial and error. → Read More
Feeling Blue? This AI Will Text You a Confidence-Building Pick-Me-Up
SMS your #mood and Blue Fever's AI responds with video texts intended to lift your spirits and build confidence. Ahead of SXSW, we talk with co-founders Lauren Tracy and Greta McAnany. → Read More
WeWork's Newest 'Veterans in Residence' Get Down to Business
WeWork and Bunker Labs' Veterans in Residence (ViR) gives vets and military spouses a free workspace for six months to develop their startups. We talk with the head of the LA cohort. → Read More
Calling All Data Nerds: Here's How to Poke Around Public City Info
March 2 is Open Data Day, a worldwide event where data science enthusiasts can slice, dice, and visualize local open information. We talked with Hack for LA and its co-captains, Anthony Rollins and Nina Kin, about what their group wants to tackle in 2019. → Read More
This Startup Connects Your Kid With Ivy League Student Instructors
Want to give your child a leg up on those college computer science courses? Juni Learning connects tutors at top colleges with students ages 5-18 for virtual coding classes. → Read More
On Set With the 'Alita: Battle Angel' Team
In a massive hangar on the outskirts of Austin, director Robert Rodriguez and producer Jon Landau walk us through the creation of 'Alita: Battle Angel' and explain how performance-capture technology advances allow for more lifelike special effects. → Read More
Sorry, Very Few Things Actually 'Break the Internet'
USC's Dr. Kristina Lerman explains why it's very hard to go viral and how our brains can't truly process all the information we're seeing on social media. → Read More
Could Your Math Skills Win the Putnam Prize? Probably Not
The Mathematical Association of America's annual Putnam Competition is a top math prize for undergrads. Executive Director Dr. Michael Pearson discusses the competition's football rivalry roots and how it's evolved to embrace AI. → Read More
Can a Virtual Sports Agent App Give Athletes More Career Control?
Athent is trying to keep the 10 percent that usually goes to agents and managers in athletes' pockets, while helping them take better control of their finances and personal brand. → Read More
California Space Center Tackles the 'Hidden Figures' Problem
Columbia Memorial Space Center in Downey, California, honors those we lost, as well as those who made space travel possible. Currently, it's paying tribute to Shelby Jacobs, an African-American mechanical engineer who played a crucial role in the 1968 Apollo 6 launch. → Read More
These Modular, AI Wheelchairs Can Watch for Obstacles Ahead
Wheelchairs can't yet be summoned via voice commands or connect with other wheelchairs to issues warnings about what's ahead. Dr. Konstantinos Sirlantzis wants to change that. → Read More
Can the 2028 Olympics Push LA to Embrace Mass Transit?
Los Angeles residents love their cars, but congestion, climate concerns, and the expected crush of people coming to the city for the 2028 Olympics have city officials exploring how to make mass transit a more enticing way to travel. → Read More
Our Brains Know if a Movie Will Bomb Before We Do
Immersion Neuroscience developed a wearable that lets Hollywood studios know how you really feel about a movie, and the likelihood that it'll be a box office bomb or a blockbuster. → Read More
Not Making Enough Money With Uber or Lyft? Try Fleek
It's hard for drivers to make decent money at Uber and Lyft. We talk to Joel Kasr, CEO of Fleek, which wants to become the 'socially responsible way to ride' by giving drivers a bigger cut. → Read More
Can AI Train Forensic Interviewers to Unlock Trauma?
USC researchers are investigating whether AI can help decode what children are trying to say (or not say) during interviews about crimes they have witnessed or been subjected to. → Read More
Future Coders Get a Peek Behind the Curtain at Warner Bros. Studios
Warner Bros. Studios recently hosted 30 middle school girls from STEAM:CODERS, a nonprofit that works with schools and communities in low-income areas. We tagged along for a day of workshops on machine learning, robotics, game engines, and one big surprise. → Read More
AR Trial Wants to Give Juvenile Offenders a 'Second Chance'
USC's Dr. Skip Rizzo has used virtual and augmented reality to help veterans, those with autism, and adults emerging from the criminal justice system better cope with day-to-day life. His latest AR-based project, Second Chance, turns its attention toward juvenile offenders. → Read More
Prepare for 'Alita: Battle Angel' With This Escape Room-Like Experience
If you're into game nights, strategy quests, and escape rooms, Passport to Iron City is the event for you. It's coming to LA, NYC, and Austin next week as a promotion for Alita: Battle Angel, a new Robert Rodriguez movie based on the 1990s-era Manga. We check it out in LA. → Read More