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05.31
What's important in technology and innovation, delivered to you every day.
The Download
Connectivity
An Open-Source (and Cute) Alternative to Amazon Echo
Mycroft’s voice-enabled assistant is embodied in the startup’s friendly looking Mark 1 gadget, but you can build it into all kinds of devices.
Connectivity
How to Save Your Digital Soul
With a selfie and some audio, a startup called Oben says, it can make you an avatar that can say—or sing—anything.
Intelligent Machines
Meet the Most Nimble-Fingered Robot Yet
A dexterous multi-fingered robot practiced using virtual objects in a simulated world, showing how machine learning and the cloud could revolutionize manual work.
Intelligent Machines
The Trump Administration May Soon Have New Powers to Destroy Drone “Threats”
Officials say it shouldn’t be illegal for the government to track and shoot down drones it deems threatening.
Intelligent Machines
A Stronger AlphaGo Defeats the World’s Number One Player
Chinese grandmaster Ke Jie tried to outfox DeepMind’s AI player with some unusual moves, but the computer prevailed with surprises of its own.
Intelligent Machines
Curiosity May Be Vital for Truly Smart AI
Making machines inquisitive could improve their ability to perform important complex tasks.
From Our Current Issue
Upcoming Webinar
Mainstream Machine Learning, from hype to how-to
Partner C-Brief
IPO Readiness: 5 Questions to Ask When Preparing to Go Public
View from the Marketplace
A Field Guide to Digital Transformation
Hybrid IT, edge computing and other advanced technologies can help companies accelerate time to value.
View from the Marketplace
How Will We Solve Big Energy Challenges?
How will industry leaders, government officials, researchers, entrepreneurs - lift billions of people out of poverty - and continue to advance technological civilization? Jason Pontin, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of MIT Technology Review delivers a striking message of collaboration from the Offshore Technology Conference Statoil Reception in Houston, Texas.
Features
Intelligent Machines
The Dark Secret at the Heart of AI
No one really knows how the most advanced algorithms do what they do. That could be a problem.
Features
Connectivity
Russian Disinformation Technology
Russia’s reinvention of war exploits old techniques for a new century. Open-source citizen investigators are fighting back.
Sustainable Energy
Can we sustainably provide food, water, and energy to a growing population during a climate crisis?
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What the U.S. Could Learn from the Dutch on Climate Change
The Netherlands environmental minister highlights the nation’s offshore wind plans, and their perennial battle with high seas.
by James Temple
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Why India Keeps Making Grand Claims About Its Energy Future
India appears to be embracing coal and moving away from coal all at once—what’s going on?
by Michael Reilly
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Electric Cars Could Be Cheaper Than Internal Combustion by 2030
Tesla gets the headlines, but big battery factories are being built all over the world, driving down prices.
by Michael Reilly
Couldn’t make it to EmTech Digital this year?
Watch videos of today’s leading technologists talking about tomorrow’s advances in artificial intelligence.
Rewriting Life
Reprogramming our bodies to make us healthier.
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23andMe Is Making Its First Foray into At-Home Research, to Study Pain
The genetic testing company wants customers to do an experiment to help uncover genetic links to pain.
by Emily Mullin
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How Data Mining Facebook Messages Can Reveal Substance Abusers
Substance abuse changes people’s patterns of behavior, and this is detectable in their social media messages, say researchers.
by Emerging Technology from the arXiv
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Drug Is First to Treat Cancer Based on Genetics, Not Location
A change in how cancer is treated means more people will benefit from immunotherapy.
by Emily Mullin
Wireless Technology Innovations Lead the Way to a Smartly Connected Future
Sponsored by Qualcomm
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These Toaster-Oven-Size Radios Will Help Bring 5G to Life
Within a few years, 5G networks could turbocharge your smartphone. But can they pass the tests cooked up by engineers at an office park in New Jersey?
by Elizabeth Woyke
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5G Wireless Is Coming, and It’s Going to Blow You Away
A massive FCC spectrum release—and new advances in wireless technologies—accelerate an era of incredibly fast data.
by David Talbot
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Digital Consequences
Sponsored by IBM
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Security Experts Warn Congress That the Internet of Things Could Kill People
Poorly secured webcams and other Internet-connected devices are already being used as tools for cyberattacks. Can the government prevent this from becoming a catastrophic problem?
by Mike Orcutt
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What Happens When Robots Become Role Models
Children can find their behavior shaped by robotic companions—so let’s not screw them up.
by Jamie Condliffe
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“The Relentless Pace of Automation”
Artificial intelligence could dramatically improve the economy and aspects of everyday life, but we need to invent ways to make sure everyone benefits.
by David Rotman
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Innovations, Ideas, and Insights
Provided by BBVA
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Robotics, Smart Materials, and their Future Impact for Humans
We are on the cusp of a robotics revolution in which the boundaries between artificial intelligence and biology are blurring.
by Jonathan Rossiter
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The Next Step in Finance: Exponential Banking
The current technological revolution is accelerating the transformation, not only of industry and business, but also of human lifestyles, culture, and, therefore, society as a whole.
by Francisco Gonzalez
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A Secure Model of IoT with Blockchain
The Internet of Things is a fast-growing, increasingly complex network of connected devices. This excerpt from an Open Mind article touches on blockchain as a way of securing this new ecosystem.
by Ahmed Banafa
