Blake Dowling, Author at Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Blake DowlingJanuary 10, 2017

Like Ryan Lochte at a Rio gas station – 2017 is on. We are 100 percent set for takeoff. Engines are roaring and what should we expect from technology in this grand year? There are three things you can always count on, breaches, innovation and disruption. Let’s dive into innovation, shall we? (More swimming puns, […]

Blake DowlingDecember 26, 2016

Breaches, hacking, ransomware, cyber threats, weaponized AI, smart toothbrushes are but a few examples of scary tech out there to make your day less than fantastic. Weapons systems that think on its own are in production, with governments racing to catch up on how to regulate these fast-paced advancements. Police and military already use drones […]

Blake DowlingDecember 14, 2016

When it comes to the home theater experience, we used to rent movies from Blockbuster and Movie Gallery. VHS came and went. Then DVD, which is gone (for the most part). In regards to transportation, there are still taxi cabs out there, but everyone I know contacts Uber to get a ride. Have you bought […]

Blake DowlingDecember 1, 2016

I think I have downloaded more apps in the past five years than anyone in the southern United States. When the kids were younger, new game? Done. Five a day, we would play incessantly, then delete. The gaming app 100 Balls took over two weeks of our life; Stack took a few weeks. Jet Pack […]

Blake DowlingOctober 31, 2016

Technology can be scary. That said, my Halloween column focuses on some frightening examples of tech gone awry; some you might find scarier (dumb scary) than an Ernest movie. Who remembers those? AWFUL. Others are disturbing in a more realistic way. I recently noticed an email alert about a fake “blue screen of death.” An […]

Blake DowlingOctober 12, 2016

I made a strategic decision Sunday — to sit out the second round of presidential debates. Instead, I enjoyed a fascinating expose on artificial intelligence (AI) on “60 Minutes.” We all have pre-conceived notions about AI. Stephen Hawking has said when machines are smarter than us, it will bring about the end of the world. […]

Blake DowlingOctober 3, 2016

Who remembers the short-lived site, Friendster? Six years ago I was asked to sit on a panel at a conference to give “expert advice” on social media use at work. I wish someone had shot some video footage; in the lifetime of social media, six years is an eternity. Just think … in 2008, Myspace […]

Blake DowlingSeptember 13, 2016

Over the years, I have composed dozens of columns on cyberthreats, skimming credit cards at the pump, boss-phishing, crypto locker, and identity theft. In a lot of those stories, you don’t hear about the bad guys getting the hammer. The Department of Homeland Security has an enormous task of defending government agencies from nation-state cyberattacks, […]

Blake DowlingSeptember 6, 2016

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Hermine rocked Tallahassee in a big way. Florida’s capital city is still reeling with thousands of businesses and homes without power. I awoke Friday morning at 6 a.m. to a scene from the set of “The Walking Dead.” My home had no power. As I attempted to leave, several downed trees were blocking the driveway. […]

Blake DowlingSeptember 1, 2016

The annual Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce Conference was held at the Ritz-Carlton in Amelia Island this August; if you have never attended, it is a solid get-together of North Florida’s business, political, educational and health care leaders. Master of ceremonies for the weekend, as in the 10 years that I been in attendance, was […]

Tech, food and disruption: Hotels on the front lines of innovation

Blake Dowling: Hacking, weaponized artificial intelligence, ransomware and other fun just for you

Blake Dowling: Amazon Go storefront, the next big disruption in retail, society

Blake Dowling: Apps for everything

Blake Dowling: This Halloween, tech can be really scary

Blake Dowling: Artificial intelligence — curing cancer, or world domination?

Blake Dowling: Expert advice on navigating the social media universe

Blake Dowling: With rising cybercrime, it’s good hearing bad guys get caught

Blake Dowling: Hermine rocks Tallahassee; scenes from the hurricane

Blake Dowling: Are your customer service skills ‘noble’?