The Download
What's up in emerging technology
US grocery giant Kroger has started making autonomous deliveries
Police are testing face recognition tech on London’s streets this week
A food delivery robot burst into flames—and now people have made a candlelight vigil for it
The world reaches a deal to advance the Paris climate accord, barely
Facebook’s new privacy blunder may have exposed your private photos
March 25-26, 2019
San Francisco, CA
Artificial intelligence is here. Own what happens next.
It's difficult to discern facts from fiction in the rapidly shifting landscape of AI. What do you need to know to stay ahead of the competition? Get the insight and intelligence you need at EmTech Digital.
Register Now
Connectivity
How China got a head start in fintech, and why the West won’t catch up
Payment apps like Alipay and WeChat transformed daily life in China. The West won’t see a similar payments revolution—and that might even be a good thing.
Connectivity
A short drive across the Pacific
Self-driving cars need the US and China to just get along already.
Sustainable Energy
Why China’s electric-car industry is leaving Detroit, Japan, and Germany in the dust
China was no good at cars. Then EVs came along.
Intelligent Machines
The Reunion: a new science-fiction story about surveillance in China
Technology is making people unhinged and violent. Can an algorithm stop them?
Connectivity
It’s time for a Bill of Data Rights
As the US Senate debates a new bill, a data-governance expert presents a plan to protect liberty and freedom in the digital age.
Business Impact
At least 15 central banks are serious about getting into digital currency
Digital cash may soon start replacing the physical kind.
From Our Current Issue
View from the Marketplace
Professional services firms see huge potential in machine learning
B2B marketers share strong convictions about how data analytics can help them understand—and reach—their customers. The more benefits they have witnessed, the greater possibilities they see.
View from the Marketplace
Technology innovations: The future of AI and blockchain
A survey conducted at the EmTech MIT conference, September 11-14, 2018, and online, yielded some interesting responses on how technology is changing our lives.
View from the Marketplace
Digital transformation sparks innovation in networking
The network needs to keep pace with the demands of exciting new technologies like containers and microservices, according to presenters at a recent industry event. The first step in that process is changing the culture.
View from the Marketplace
For data-savvy marketers, there’s a new keyword: Intent
As more companies look to machine learning for insights, marketers need to use new tools and technology to engage potential customers at the right time and place.
Watch Video
More videos
AI in Industry: Intelligent Health Care 29:27
Next-Generation Robots Need Your Help 27:36
Access to broadband is as important as access to water and electricity 01:15
We shouldn't preserve "willy nilly" the cost of production 01:00
Coffee-fetching robots 02:08
Automating things on wheels 00:50
Humans versus machines: Chopin edition 02:06
Teaching systems to dance 01:44
3-D printed potato chips 01:15
Robots as nurses' assistants 00:36
AI in Industry: Intelligent Health Care 29:27
MIT professor Dina Katabi is building a gadget that can sit in one spot and track everything from breathing to walking, no wearables required.
Rewriting Life
Reprogramming our bodies to make us healthier.
-
We finally know how fish swim so fast
Physicists have argued for 50 years over which of two theories explains how fish produce thrust. Now a computer simulation has provided the answer.
by Emerging Technology from the arXiv
-
Does dark matter really cause skin cancer? Have a guess.
A far-out theory proposed earlier this year falls apart under closer examination, says a new study.
by Emerging Technology from the arXiv
-
Years before CRISPR babies, this man was the first to edit human embryos
In 2015, an unknown Chinese scientist edited the DNA of human embryos. It was a step on an inexorable path to designer babies.
by Antonio Regalado
-
SPONSORED
The crisis of social reproduction and the end of work
High-income societies are facing the rise of precarious employment.
by Helen Hester and Nick Snircek
-
SPONSORED
Advanced tech, but growth slow and unequal: paradoxes and policies
Slowing productivity growth in major economies amid seemingly booming technology presents a paradox.
by Zia Qureshi
-
SPONSORED
From the age of perplexity to the era of opportunities
Finance for Growth
by Francisco Gonzalez
Features
Rewriting Life
Years before CRISPR babies, this man was the first to edit human embryos
In 2015, an unknown Chinese scientist edited the DNA of human embryos. It was a step on an inexorable path to designer babies.
Intelligent Machines
Artificial intelligence and robots are transforming how we work and live.
-
Should a self-driving car kill the baby or the grandma? Depends on where you’re from.
The infamous “trolley problem” was put to millions of people in a global study, revealing how much ethics diverge across cultures.
by Karen Hao
-
Female black journalists and politicians get sent an abusive tweet every 30 seconds
Machine learning reveals a disturbing level of harassment, abuse, and trolling aimed at women and minorities on Twitter.
by Will Knight
-
The Reunion: a new science-fiction story about surveillance in China
Technology is making people unhinged and violent. Can an algorithm stop them?
by Chen Qiufan, translated by Emily Jin and Ken Liu