“Computers Will Be Superb at Manipulating Our Feelings”
“Do you think there will one day be an AI capable of laughing and crying?” “No, but it will be capable of making us laugh and cry.” “And that computers might one day have feelings?” “No, but they will be superb at manipulating ours.” For 30 years Prof. Julita Vasileva has studied computers and the world they created. As a scientist, she was lucky enough to land in a field that went through an incredible rise; as a teacher, she has witnessed how several generations relate to technology. Prof. Vasileva knows and studies the technological side of the computer world, but she pays even more attention to its social side.
182“It’s Time We Thought About Mental Fitness, Too!”
How do we overcome the difficulties that online communication creates? Which character traits give away a good programmer? When is it time to draw a firm line and slow things down at work, before burnout arrives? The answers come from Velina Getova, a psychologist with extensive experience in information technology.
183“When Everyone Starts Talking About Bitcoin, Don’t Buy!”
Valentin Mihov is the person you need if you want an up-to-date technological view of decentralized finance. What does its future look like after yet another record in the price of Bitcoin? What are the technological risks? What will happen once the last Bitcoin is mined? And what should anyone who decides to invest in cryptocurrencies know?
184When Not!News Makes the News
Few pages on the Bulgarian web offer original, unadulterated content that makes you laugh… even if the smile is a sour one, born of the irony of Bulgarian reality. Since 2009, Samuil Petkanov, the creator of Not!News, has been serving up his version of “the news as it could have been.” What does he think of the way we get our information? Does he manage to predict the future? How is it that we are all experts on influencers’ nose jobs and cryptocurrency fluctuations, and where is this taking us? The answers are in this interview, garnished with a small helping of Not!News inspired by Digital Stories.
185“Empathy Will Save the World”
Kris is the strongest person I know. This time we talk about literature and the media, two of the most important universes in his life. About the obstacles people with disabilities face and their encounter with society. And about how the rest of us should treat them without offending or hurting them.
186“Google Is Far More Dynamic and Chaotic Than It Looks from the Outside”
Minko Gechev works at Google as a senior developer on the Angular team. What is it like to be part of Google? How is studying at Sofia's Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics like studying at MIT? Why are programmers often more “closed off” people, and what does it take to succeed in the profession? Answers from a programmer with an impressive résumé and a curious outlook.
187“How Do You Spell It?” “Idunno”
How Do You Spell It? is a cult website for every Bulgarian online who cares about writing correctly. We meet its creator, Pavlina Varbanova. How do we write in the digital world? Which mistakes are searched for most often? Is it time to drop the needless rule of the full definite article, and why does it matter to take care of the words we load with our messages?
188“To Succeed Online, You Have to Put a Piece of Your Heart into It”
Marina Shiderova is a person of both art and technology. She and her team at Fram Creative studio create next-generation digital design that turns opening a web page into convenience, aesthetic pleasure and adventure. Together we look for one more valuable perspective on the technological present and on success online—from the standpoint of design and art.
189Ivo Ivanov: “We Should Have Foreseen the Destructive Side of Technology…”
Until there is an artificial intelligence that can write moving prose, we will have to rely on Ivo Ivanov for the job. Like every sensitive and observant person today, he has his own many-colored view of the digital transformation. Are there things we cannot teach algorithms? What did the online age give us, what did it take away, and how do we stay human in it?
190Kris Grigorov: “Life Isn’t a Struggle for Happiness. It Brings Happiness”
Kris Grigorov is the strongest person I know. His story, his presence and his musical talent made him a star 15 years ago. He is blind and cannot manage without a wheelchair. A wise, self-assured young man with endlessly meaningful things to say, he graduated in Bulgarian philology and is determined to become a teacher. Should we ever stop chasing our dreams? What does light look like to someone who has never seen it?
191“We Will Always Need Quality, Verified Information”
Diana Kulchitskaya teaches journalism at Moscow State University. What makes people take up journalism? Does it have a future, as seen from the lecturer's desk? And how do the debates about the online future of the media look from the “more northeastern corner” of the globe?
192Bardarov on Human Aggression and How We Might Save Ourselves as a Nation
You probably know him as a spellbinding novelist, but he is a great deal more. Our conversation with Georgi Bardarov begins and ends with the books and stories that make us human. In between, we talk about a way out of the demographic crisis, about our inability to build an elite that can lead us forward as a nation, and about the ease with which a human being turns into a predator capable of unleashing monstrous cataclysms like World War II.
193“Success Online Belongs to Those Who Know Who They’re Talking To”
Digital marketing is a significant part of all our lives, whether we notice it and whether we want it or not. We venture deep into its thickets with the most fitting guest, Vassilena Valchanova, to talk about the many faces of success online, the ethics of marketing and whether it is a craft of creativity or simply a set of rules.
194Humankind and the Cosmos, 50 Years On
These days we spend long hours staring at screens and rarely look up at the stars, literally and metaphorically. Assoc. Prof. Vasil Umlenski has worked as a professional astronomer for exactly half a century. We meet to talk about the stars, about a love for the sky, and about humanity's future in space, drawing on his long experience.
195Words as Inner Islands: The Stories of Viktoria Beshliyska
Viktoria Beshliyska started a travel blog… which suddenly turned into a blog about old Bulgarian words. The words pulled her further into their whirlpool, all the way to Clay, a novel that became a hit on the book market. Join us for a special, word-filled digital encounter…
196Rumen the Cat: The Internet Egzists to Give Peepl Akses to More Katz
The time has come for Digital Stories to give the floor to influencers. Today's guest rarely gives interviews, and it is safe to say that without our digital present he would never have given a single one. That would be the reader's loss, because his thoughts are sincere, colorful and delivered in a rather peculiar way.
197“Conflicts Arise Because We Don’t Bother to Listen to Each Other”
Hari Haralambiev teaches soft skills to people in IT. We sit down with him to talk about all the stereotypes surrounding programming and the people who do it. About hard and soft skills. About difficult conversations. About leadership and the road to success. About the struggles every team goes through. About the human side of an industry that has become so fashionable and so attractive in recent years: software.
198Do We Even Feel Like Dreaming Anymore?
Nikolay Tellalov offers some precious reflections in a slow interview about the stars and happiness, love and meaning, and the words someone has to say and write down. Have science fiction writers stopped dreaming, or has technology overtaken them? Is humanity still learning to walk, or has it hit a midlife crisis, and why don't today's young people rebel?
199Svetlin Nakov: Today, the Fight for Freedom Is Fought in the Digital World
Svetlin Nakov, the founder of SoftUni, can talk about today's (and tomorrow's) computer world for hours. Engagingly and knowledgeably, with a sense of humor and real insight. Here is what he has to tell us.
200An Interview in… Short Stories?
Our guest in the Digital Stories Interviews section has a talent for reading the future. Nikolay Tellalov is a beloved writer, and although he has long been an interpreter and connoisseur of technology, he lives at a healthy distance from it. Here is what he has to say in… short stories: digital stories, miniatures that say a great deal in an infinitely small space.
