The Download
What's up in emerging technology
Amazon’s experimental, six-wheel delivery robot is taking to the streets
The European Space Agency wants to mine the moon for oxygen and water
Waymo plans to open the world’s first self-driving-car factory this year
Another use of an egg-swapping IVF technique has just been reported in Europe
An algorithm that mimics our tribal instincts could help AI learn to socialize
From Our Current Issue
March 25-26, 2019
San Francisco, CA
Artificial intelligence is here. Own what happens next.
It's difficult to discern facts from fiction in the rapidly shifting landscape of AI. What do you need to know to stay ahead of the competition? Get the insight and intelligence you need at EmTech Digital.
Register Now
Intelligent Machines
Three charts show how China’s AI industry is propped up by three companies
More than half of the country’s major AI players have funding ties that lead back to Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent.
Intelligent Machines
Giving algorithms a sense of uncertainty could make them more ethical
Algorithms are best at pursuing a single mathematical objective—but humans often want multiple incompatible things.
Rewriting Life
We won’t use CRISPR to make super-smart babies—but only because we can’t
Gene experts speculate that our worst gene-editing fears won’t come true because they are too complex for us to pull them off.
Connectivity
Ethereum’s got a hard forking problem thanks to another delayed upgrade
Software bugs are holding things up, and it’s turned into a referendum on the cryptocurrency’s decentralized nature.
Intelligent Machines
This Ikea kitchen might teach industrial robots to be less dumb and more helpful
Nvidia’s new robotics lab will see if robots can learn to fetch the ketchup, load the dishwasher, and—eventually—make a cake.
Sustainable Energy
We could still prevent 1.5 ˚C of warming—but we almost certainly won’t
New research finds we’d need to immediately stop building fossil-fuel-burning vehicles, planes, and factories.
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
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.
View from the Marketplace
The state of artificial intelligence
AI technologies are coming into mainstream business usage—but a host of challenges remains. An interactive infographic illustrates the opportunities and the hurdles.
In association with Oracle, Intel
Watch Video
More videos
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.
-
We won’t use CRISPR to make super-smart babies—but only because we can’t
Gene experts speculate that our worst gene-editing fears won’t come true because they are too complex for us to pull them off.
by Antonio Regalado
-
Electric nanoparticles can target and kill cancer cells by zapping them
Particles that produce electrical signals when bombarded with ultrasound could be a way to direct a cell-killing treatment directly to tumors.
by Emerging Technology from the arXiv
-
Gene engineers make super-size plants that are 40% larger
Researchers hope to create a new “green revolution” by improving photosynthesis.
by Antonio Regalado
-
SPONSORED
Reality regained: An inquiry into the data age
The explosion of data and advances in computing power are radically transforming daily life.
by Jannis Kallinikos
-
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
-
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
Features
Intelligent Machines
Never mind killer robots—here are six real AI dangers to watch out for in 2019
Last year a string of controversies revealed a darker (and dumber) side to artificial intelligence.
Intelligent Machines
Artificial intelligence and robots are transforming how we work and live.
-
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
-
Three charts show how China’s AI industry is propped up by three companies
More than half of the country’s major AI players have funding ties that lead back to Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent.
by Karen Hao
-
AI is sending people to jail—and getting it wrong
Using historical data to train risk assessment tools could mean that machines are copying the mistakes of the past.
by Karen Hao