The Download
What's up in emerging technology
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
One of crypto’s most futuristic-sounding projects just came crashing down
March 25-26, 2019
San Francisco, CA
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Connectivity
A short drive across the Pacific
Self-driving cars need the US and China to just get along already.
Intelligent Machines
These incredibly realistic fake faces show how algorithms can now mess with us
A new approach to AI fakery can generate incredibly realistic faces, with whatever characteristics you’d like.
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.
Connectivity
Ethereum thinks it can change the world. It’s running out of time to prove it.
The blockchain system has daunting technical problems to fix. But first, its disciples need to figure out how to govern themselves.
Business Impact
New York’s new wage law for Uber drivers is a lesson for cities around the world
Alex Rosenblat rode along with Uber drivers for 5,000 miles. We talked with her about the huge impact the law could have.
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.
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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.
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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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Despite CRISPR baby controversy, Harvard University will begin gene-editing sperm
Even as a furious debate broke out in China over gene-edited babies, some scientists in the US are also hoping to improve tomorrow’s children.
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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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
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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