The Download
What's up in emerging technology
WhatsApp is banning you from forwarding the same message to more than five people
CRISPR babies are real and the scientist who made them sought “personal fame and fortune”
A startup that makes 3D-printed rockets will now launch from Cape Canaveral
Millions of email addresses have been exposed—here’s how to check if yours was one of them
Most people don’t know what Facebook knows about them
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March 25-26, 2019
San Francisco, CA
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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.
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.
Connectivity
Hate lawyers? Can’t afford one? Blockchain smart contracts are here to help.
Mainstream online legal services are getting serious about using crypto to automate bits of what they do—and lower the bar to entry for us all.
Intelligent Machines
A neural network can learn to organize the world it sees into concepts—just like we do
Generative adversarial networks are not just good for causing mischief. They can also show us how AI algorithms “think.”
Connectivity
When Chinese hackers declared war on the rest of us
Many thought the internet would bring democracy to China. Instead it empowered rampant government oppression, and now the censors are turning their attention to the rest of the world.
Intelligent Machines
Americans want to regulate AI but don’t trust anyone to do it
The public thinks that human-level AI is likely to cause more harm than good, a new report has shown.
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
From innovation to monetization: The economics of data-driven transformation
Used strategically, an organization’s data gains value over time. But to unlock its potential requires first establishing the right technical and cultural foundations.
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
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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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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
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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
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Gene engineers make super-size plants that are 40% larger
Researchers hope to create a new “green revolution” by improving photosynthesis.
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
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.
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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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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
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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.
by Karen Hao