The Download
What's up in emerging technology
Google says it won’t sell face recognition for now—but it will be hard to slow its use
Postmates has launched a delivery robot that will bring lunch to your door
Virgin Galactic has reached suborbital space for the first time
Bees that wear tiny sensor-filled backpacks could monitor farms all day long
All automated hiring software is prone to bias by default
March 25-26, 2019
San Francisco, CA
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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.
Intelligent Machines
A radical new neural network design could overcome big challenges in AI
Researchers borrowed equations from calculus to redesign the core machinery of deep learning so it can model continuous processes like changes in health.
Business Impact
Universal income vs. the robots: Meet the presidential candidate fighting automation
7 questions for Andrew Yang, the 2020 US presidential candidate pushing for basic income.
Business Impact
The 6 reasons why Huawei gives the US and its allies security nightmares
The biggest fear is that China could exploit the telecom giant’s gear to wreak havoc in a crisis.
Intelligent Machines
Facial recognition has to be regulated to protect the public, says AI report
The research institute AI Now has identified facial recognition as a key challenge for society and policymakers—but is it too late?
Business Impact
Meet the astronaut trainer getting billionaire space tourists ready for liftoff
The coming rise in private spaceflight is prompting growth in space companies that give citizen astronauts the know-how they need to fly.
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
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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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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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Rogue Chinese CRISPR scientist cited US report as his green light
An expert finding from the National Academies of Sciences was He Jiankui’s excuse to edit the DNA of two babies.
by Antonio Regalado
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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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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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From the age of perplexity to the era of opportunities
Finance for Growth
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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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China has never had a real chip industry. Making AI chips could change that.
The country has struggled for decades to build a competitive semiconductor industry. In making specialized AI chips, though, it’s got a head start.
by Will Knight
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Nine charts that really bring home just how fast AI is growing
Artificial intelligence is booming in Europe, China, and the US, but it’s still a very male industry.
by Will Knight