The Download
What's up in emerging technology
Uber’s self-driving car spotted a pedestrian six seconds before it killed her
Robot worries could cause a 50,000-worker strike in Las Vegas
Machine learning could stop an online war of words before it starts
Apple gets into the autonomous-vehicle race ... sort of
Russian hackers are targeting Ukraine (again)
Connectivity
Specialized chips are threatening to take over cryptocurrencies, and they look unstoppable
The Chinese firm Bitmain dominates the market for tailor-made mining hardware and shows no sign of slowing down.
Rewriting Life
I lost a bet, and now I am going to let millions of strangers check whether we’re related
How this reporter ended up deciding to join the crowd and get his DNA tested.
Connectivity
This company hopes its cryptocurrency can help the internet of things reach its true potential
Helium, a startup focused on connecting low-power devices, thinks a blockchain can seed the spread of cheap, ubiquitous connectivity.
Intelligent Machines
The White House says a new AI task force will protect workers and keep America first
Saying the US is ahead of other nations in AI, the administration touts actions it has already taken to promote the technology.
Intelligent Machines
AI program gets really good at navigation by developing a brain-like GPS system
DeepMind’s neural networks mimic the grid cells found in human brains that help us know where we are.
Connectivity
Google’s new tools will make your life more convenient—for a price
Don’t forget that forking over more and more of your data remains part of the bargain.
June 4-5, 2018
MIT Media Lab
When robots are your colleagues, which human skills will still matter?
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More videos
Filtering Drinking Water with Nanofibers 03:17
Blood-Delivering Drones 04:23
How the SEC will affect ICOs 04:05
"Tezos tokens are akin to Amazon AWS credits" 00:25
"Bitcoin is like Coca-Cola" 01:11
Valuing an asset in the crypto world 00:27
Crypto assets versus cryptocurrencies 01:24
How the market is pricing each unit of Bitcoin's transaction volume 00:41
Why now? 01:55
How banks use blockchains 02:03
Sustainable Energy
Filtering Drinking Water with Nanofibers 03:17
Liquidity, an Alameda, California-based startup, has developed a low-cost water filter made from nanofibers that it hopes will reduce water-borne diseases in poor countries.
From Our Current Issue
Rewriting Life
Reprogramming our bodies to make us healthier.
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Does the brain store information in discrete or analog form?
New evidence in favor of a discrete form of data storage could change the way we understand the brain and the devices we build to interface with it.
by Emerging Technology from the arXiv
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I lost a bet, and now I am going to let millions of strangers check whether we’re related
How this reporter ended up deciding to join the crowd and get his DNA tested.
by Antonio Regalado
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A stealthy Harvard startup wants to reverse aging in dogs, and humans could be next
Biologist George Church says the idea is to live to 130 in the body of a 22-year-old.
by Antonio Regalado
Briefing Paper
How to Unlock the Power of IoT with Real-Time Monitoring
Executive Briefing
Cloud Development: The Key to Rapid Innovation
Features
Sustainable Energy
The scientist still fighting for the clean fuel the world forgot
A decade of investment in advanced biofuels led nowhere, but Jay Keasling remains undaunted.
Sustainable Energy
Can we sustainably provide food, water, and energy to a growing population during a climate crisis?
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California is throttling back record levels of solar—and that’s bad news for climate goals
Without big changes, the oversupply of renewables will stall efforts to overhaul the power sector.
by James Temple
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The scientist still fighting for the clean fuel the world forgot
A decade of investment in advanced biofuels led nowhere, but Jay Keasling remains undaunted.
by James Temple
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California’s rooftop solar rule is a pricey path to emissions reductions
A solar panel on every house might sound good, but it isn’t smart climate policy.
by James Temple