The Download
What's up in emerging technology
Facebook might be developing a cryptocurrency that you could send via WhatsApp
A space startup was just hit with a $900,000 fine for illegally launching four tiny satellites
A man asked for his data from Amazon—and they sent him 1,700 recordings of someone else
Chinese hackers allegedly stole data of more than 100,000 US Navy personnel
How deep learning helped to map every solar panel in the US
From Our Current Issue
March 25-26, 2019
San Francisco, CA
Artificial intelligence is here. Own what happens next.
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Business Impact
How much money would you want to quit Facebook for a year? Most people say $1,000.
Despite all the recent scandals, so many of us still stick with Facebook. This study might explain why.
Business Impact
China vs. the US: Who wins and who loses
An interview with Yasheng Huang, MIT professor and expert on entrepreneurship in China.
Intelligent Machines
The US and China aren’t in a “cold war,” so stop calling it that
In our globalized economy, the term is not only outdated, it’s harmful.
Business Impact
Science vs. the state: a family saga at the Caltech of China
Three generations of personal and political history show the tensions between the Communist Party’s need for knowledge and its need for ideological control.
Intelligent Machines
China’s tech giants want to go global. Just one thing might stand in their way.
Multibillion-dollar companies like Alibaba and Tencent have thrived thanks to a government that provided incentives but otherwise let them grow. Can they count on that in the future?
Business Impact
Aboard the giant sand-sucking ships that China uses to reshape the world
Massive ships, mind-boggling amounts of sand, and an appetite for expansionism in the South China Sea: the recipe for a land grab like no other.
This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center.
Connectivity
China launched more rockets into orbit in 2018 than any other country
And in the next few years it plans to launch the world’s biggest space telescope, the world’s heaviest rocket, and a space station to rival the ISS.
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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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We tried teaching an AI to write Christmas movie plots. Hilarity ensued. Eventually.
Using a neural network to create ridiculous plot lines takes a lot of work—and reveals the challenges of generating human language.
by Karen Hao
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Machine vision can create Harry Potter–style photos for muggles
A clever algorithm animates characters in still images, allowing them to walk out of photographs.
by Emerging Technology from the arXiv