The problem of robocalls has become so bad that we refuse to pick up calls from numbers we don’t know. Nearly half of the calls we receive are scams (欺诈). We’ve realized the severity of the problem by supporting and developing a group of tools, apps and approaches intended to prevent scammers from getting through. Unfortunately, it’s too little. By the time these “solutions” become widely available, scammers will have moved onto cleverer means. In the near future, it’s not just going to be the number you see on your screen that will be in doubt. Soon you will also question whether the voice you’re hearing is actually real.

That’s because there are many powerful voice manipulation (处理) technologies to be available. A company showed a new voice technology able to produce a convincing human-sounding voice able to speak to a receptionist and book a reservation without detection.

These developments are likely to make our current problems with robocalls much worse. The reason that robocalls are a headache has less to do with amount than precision. A decade of data disclosure of personal information has led to a situation where scammers can easily learn your mother’s name, and far more. Armed with this knowledge, they’re able to cheat the targeted people. This means, for example, that a scammer could call you from what looks to be a familiar number and talk to you with a voice sounding exactly like your bank teller’s, misleading you to “confirm” your address and card number. Scammers follow money, so companies will be the worst hit. A lot of business is still done over the phone, and much of it is based on trust and existing relationships. Voice manipulation technologies may weaken that gradually.

We need to deal with the insecure nature of our telecom networks. Phone carriers and consumers need to work together to find ways of determining and communicating what is real. That might mean either developing a uniform way to mark videos and images, showing when and who they were made by or abandoning phone calls altogether and moving towards data-based communications — using apps like WeChat and Alipay, which can be tied to your identity.

Nowadays, more and more college students have no problem walking into a classroom and opening their laptops. Others may spend an entire study period with a smartphone in hand. Some people argue that the increasing use of technology can have many helpful effects on society. But a recent research suggests that using technology during class time may harm college students' ability to remember and process the subject material.

Arnold Glass, a professor in Rutgers University in New Jersey4, and a student researcher investigated the issue of divided student attention. The study involved 118 Rutgers students who were taking the same level college class. The students were permitted to use any electronic device during half of their daily class periods. During the other half, no one was allowed to use any technology.

The researchers found that the average daily quiz results showed no evidence of harmful effects from the use of technology. However, the average results of the larger tests and final exam showed that all the students performed poorly when they were permitted to use technology in the classroom. Glass argues that it shows the use of electronic devices in the classroom prevents students from processing information. When the students hear what the professor is saying, they might be buying things online or reading unrelated emails at the same time. And that, Glass says, makes it harder for the information to enter their long term memory. Even though the students know what the professor said at that time, they no longer remember it a week later because they missed the opportunity.

However, Lauren Margulieux, an assistant professor at Georgia State University in Atlanta argues that there are times when classroom use of technology is unavoidable. So, he says, educators need to consider that something other than technology is distracting students.

In fact, a special software program has been created. Students can use the program, which engages students more with the class material on their personal devices during a given class. It can also be used to observe student activity and prevent them from opening unrelated pages and programs.