The Download
What's up in emerging technology
The US threatens to stop sharing intelligence with allies if they use Huawei
How US experts helped China build a DNA surveillance state
Russia is going to ban soldiers from using smartphones and social media on duty
President Trump has signed a directive to establish Space Force
Lab-grown meat could be worse for the climate than beef
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March 25-26, 2019
San Francisco, CA
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Rewriting Life
In China, some parents seek an edge with genetic testing for tots
Questionable DNA “talent” tests find a market in up-and-coming Shenzhen.
Connectivity
Explainer: What is quantum communication?
Researchers and companies are creating ultra-secure communication networks that could form the basis of a quantum internet. This is how it works.
Intelligent Machines
An AI that writes convincing prose risks mass-producing fake news
Fed with billions of words, this algorithm creates convincing articles and shows how AI could be used to fool people on a mass scale.
Business Impact
A “second skin” for fruit and veg could make them last twice as long
We throw away a third of all our fruit and vegetables. California-based firm Apeel wants to change that with a natural coating that keeps produce fresher for longer.
Intelligent Machines
Police across the US are training crime-predicting AIs on falsified data
A new report shows how supposedly objective systems can perpetuate corrupt policing practices.
Business Impact
It’s official. NASA has finally called the end of the Opportunity Mars rover mission.
NASA has ended its attempts to communicate with the robot, which has been on Mars for 15 years.
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
View from the Marketplace
Self-driving cars take the wheel
View from the Marketplace
The next “Deep Blue” moment: Self-flying drone racing
Spoiler: Coders wanted! And a chance to win more than $2 million in cash prizes.
Executive Briefing
Getting smart about the future of AI
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.
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China’s CRISPR twins might have had their brains inadvertently enhanced
New research suggests that a controversial gene-editing experiment to make children resistant to HIV may also have enhanced their ability to learn and form memories.
by Antonio Regalado
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In China, some parents seek an edge with genetic testing for tots
Questionable DNA “talent” tests find a market in up-and-coming Shenzhen.
by Michael Standaert
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What if you could diagnose diseases with a tampon?
Women’s health care is often treated as all about reproduction. Some “femtech” startups are exploring the innovations that get overlooked as a result.
by Dayna Evans
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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
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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
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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
Connectivity
The first privately funded trip to the moon is about to launch
After failing to claim the Lunar X Prize (which, to be fair, everyone did), the Israeli firm SpaceIL could have a rover on lunar soil in a little over a month.
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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How AlphaZero has rewritten the rules of gameplay on its own
David Silver says the computer program that taught itself to be a chess grandmaster exhibits “the essence of creativity”.
by Will Knight
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A philosopher argues that an AI can’t be an artist
Creativity is, and always will be, a human endeavor.
by Sean Dorrance Kelly