The Daily

Your guide to what matters today

04.04

  1. Can Machine Learning Help Lift China’s Smog?

    As China’s air quality sinks, IBM’s research group is using AI techniques to predict pollution levels for every square kilometer 10 days in advance.

    by Will Knight

  2. Theranos Promised a Revolution, but Delivered Dangerous Errors

    A government investigation of Theranos’s lab has documented a host of troubles at the blood-testing startup.

    by Antonio Regalado

  3. The Tesla Model 3 May Depend on This Battery Breakthrough

    EV batteries have to get a lot cheaper by 2017 if the Model 3 is to live up to its billing.

    by Mike Orcutt

  4. Data-Mining Algorithm Reveals the Stormy Evolution of Mathematics over 700 Years

    Mathematical thinking dominates our understanding of the universe. Now network theorists have discovered the tipping points in the evolution of ideas that have shaped the modern mathematical landscape.

    by Emerging Technology from the arXiv

  5. With Hospital Ransomware Infections, the Patients Are at Risk

    Ransomware that locks up patient data in hospitals is disrupting medical care, and the problem is set to get worse.

    by Tom Simonite

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Big data

Tech Companies’ Foray Into Public Infrastructure Will Magnify Their Power

Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are positioning their cloud computing services to dominate the infrastructure that will power self-driving cars.
Beyond silicon

The Best of the Physics arXiv (week ending April 2, 2016)

A selection of the most interesting and intriguing arXiv papers from the past week.

Leadership Communication Beyond E-Mail

To work productively, today’s highly mobile, widely dispersed executive teams need secure, streamlined environments for sharing information and making decisions during and between meetings. Download this exclusive C-Brief to learn more.

Produced by MIT Technology Review Custom, In Partnership with Boardvantage

Clean power

This New Fuel Could Make Nuclear Power Safer and Cheaper

Lightbridge has developed a metallic fuel for nuclear reactors that it claims will tackle some of the industry’s biggest challenges, but safety questions remain.
Software

Seven Must-Read Stories (Week Ending April 2, 2016)

Another chance to catch the most interesting, and important, articles from the previous week on MIT Technology Review.
Clean power

Obama’s Last Nuclear Summit Meets as the Threat of Terrorism Looms

Barack Obama has made nuclear security a centerpiece of his administration, but experts say the risk of nuclear terrorism is ratcheting up.
Machine learning

EmTech Digital Preview: How AI Impacts Us Now and Will In the Future

Join us in San Francisco in May as we explore ways that artificial intelligence is impacting business right now and how it will shape the future.
Computer science

Microsoft Says Maverick Chatbot Tay Foreshadows the Future of Computing

Despite a history of making irksome digital assistants, Microsoft thinks you want to converse with your computer.
View from the Marketplace

The Rise of Data Capital

Data is the single biggest asset at most organizations today. It’s time to start treating it accordingly.

In partnership with Oracle

Computing

The Troll Hunters

A group of journalists and researchers wade into ugly corners of the Internet to expose racists, creeps, and hypocrites. Have they gone too far?

Adrian Chen

Taking on the Cybersecurity Challenge

Produced by MIT Technology Review Custom, in partnership with Hewlett Packard Enterprise and FireEye

  1. Once More Unto the Breach: What It Takes to Defeat Cyberattackers

    Cyberattacks are a fact of life across the world, as intruders breach more and more organizations each day. Why are we so vulnerable? And what can we do to make our systems more secure?
    by MIT Technology Review Custom
More in Taking on the Cybersecurity Challenge

03. 2016

March/April 2016

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Features

Machine learning

How Google Plans to Solve Artificial Intelligence

Mastering Go is just the beginning for Google DeepMind, which hopes to create human-like AI.

by Tom Simonite

Software

Man and Machine

Despite many advances, AI still works best when paired with humans.
Machine learning

How Google Plans to Solve Artificial Intelligence

Mastering Go is just the beginning for Google DeepMind, which hopes to create human-like AI.

Robotics

Smart machines are beginning to speak to us and act on their own.

Other Topics

  1. How Google Plans to Solve Artificial Intelligence

    Mastering Go is just the beginning for Google DeepMind, which hopes to create human-like AI.
    by Tom Simonite

  2. Sorry, Shoppers: Delivery Drones Might Not Fly for a While

    Despite legislative momentum behind projects like those being developed by Google, Amazon, and others, big technology challenges stand in the way of delivery drones.
    by Will Knight

  3. Chatty Cars Are Getting Out on the Road

    Car-to-car communication, which may reduce traffic accidents and congestion, is about to undergo testing on roadways in Sunnyvale, California.
    by Will Knight
More from Robotics

03. 2016

Business Reports

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Innovation strategies

Here’s Why You Might Be an Electric Car Owner a Decade from Now

Low gas prices won’t stop the electric car market from its march toward the mainstream.
Gene editing

Zika Attacked an Unborn Baby’s Brain as Doctors Watched

U.S. and Finnish doctors caught the brain-shrinking virus in action and say tests to screen for such problems are possible.
Machine learning

Could AlphaGo Bluff Its Way through Poker?

One of the brains behind Google’s Go-winning software says a similar learning approach makes it as good as a human expert at Texas hold ‘em poker.
Water technologies

Man-Made Earthquakes Are on the Rise, But They Don’t Have to Be

There are alternatives to the wastewater injection that causes earthquakes and contaminates groundwater.
Fossil fuel transition

Tesla’s Cheaper Model 3 Could Strain Charging Infrastructure

The more-affordable Tesla Model 3, to be unveiled Thursday, is projected to sell in huge numbers. But will there be enough places to charge them?
Work

Automated Anesthesiologist Suffers a Painful Defeat

A machine that makes anesthesiologists unnecessary for some medical procedures has failed amid poor sales and resistance from doctors and nurses.
Beyond silicon

How to Measure the Gravitational Field of a Quantum Object

Measuring devices have become sensitive enough to detect the gravitational forces between tiny objects and may soon cross the quantum threshold.
Health and medical information

The Fridge Laser That Detects Bacteria Crawling All Over Food

Spotting the bacteria that causes food poisoning has always been a time-consuming and expensive business. Until now.
Virtual reality

Sound Makes Virtual Reality a More Powerful Painkiller

Listening to audio while playing a VR game can help you control pain, new research indicates.

Features

Tomorrow's machines

Sorry, Shoppers: Delivery Drones Might Not Fly for a While

Despite legislative momentum behind projects like those being developed by Google, Amazon, and others, big technology challenges stand in the way of delivery drones.

by Will Knight

Software

How AI Is Feeding China’s Internet Dragon

China’s biggest Internet company, Baidu, is pushing an ambitious effort to add artificial intelligence to its products.
Software

AI Hits the Mainstream

More industries are looking for ways to use artificial intelligence. What will that mean for the technology’s future?

Biomedicine

New technologies and biological insights are providing unprecedented ways of improving our health.

Other Topics

  1. When Biology Meets Ideology

    A new book reopens a notorious case of bungled science in the Soviet Union.
    by Maggie Koerth-Baker

  2. Genome Discovery Holds Key to Designer Organisms

    Scientists are homing in on the fewest genes needed for an organism to survive.
    by Karen Weintraub

  3. Controlling Diabetes with a Skin Patch

    A flexible tattoo senses glucose levels in sweat and delivers a drug as needed.
    by David Talbot
More from Biomedicine
Virtual reality

Oculus Rift Is an Achievement, but There’s a Long Way to Go for Virtual Reality

The arrival of the Rift marks the beginning of the era of high-end consumer VR, but many problems still need to be worked out.
Machine learning

Software That Reads Harry Potter Might Perform Some Wizardry

Maluuba is training deep-learning algorithms to answer questions about small amounts of text. The technology might eventually read user manuals so you don’t have to.
Beyond silicon

The Best of the Physics arXiv (week ending March 26, 2016)

A selection of the most interesting and intriguing arXiv papers from the past week.
Internet of things

Alphabet and Facebook’s Stratospheric Internet Plans Get Tangled in High-Altitude Red Tape

Plans to use drones and balloons to provide wireless Internet will need considerable help from regulators overseeing airspace and communications satellites.
Clean power

A Xerox Machine for Super Solar Panels

Researchers at PARC are working on a way to cheaply print efficient solar cells at a large scale.
Genomic medicine

Seven Must-Read Stories (Week Ending March 26, 2016)

Another chance to catch the most interesting, and important, articles from the previous week on MIT Technology Review.
Smartphones and apps

App Spots Objects for the Visually Impaired

A new iPhone app uses machine learning to identify objects for people with poor eyesight, and it doesn’t need an Internet connection.
Big data

Baidu Uses Map Searches to Predict When Crowds Will Get Out of Control

China’s leading search engine, Baidu, says user data can help it predict when real-world gatherings become so large they’re dangerous.
Big data

Data Mining Reveals the Four Urban Conditions That Create Vibrant City Life

The lack of an evidence-based approach to city planning has ruined cities all over the world. But data-mining techniques are finally revealing the rules that make cities successful, vibrant places to live.