Seven Must-Read Stories (Week Ending October 18, 2013)

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

October 18, 2013

As We May Type
New outliners and authoring tools are machines for new thoughts.
Leading Economist Predicts a Bitcoin Backlash
Economist Simon Johnson says governments will feel the urge to suppress the crypto-currency Bitcoin.
Qualcomm to Build Neuro-Inspired Chips
World’s largest smartphone chipmaker offers to custom-build very efficient neuro-inspired chips for phones, robots, and vision systems.
So Far, Smart Watches Are Pretty Dumb
Smart watches risk becoming just another irritating gadget unless their makers learn to use AI and sensors to take advantage of the fact that they’re worn all day.
Will GOTCHAs Replace CAPTCHAs?
Distorted pieces of text are often used to prevent computers getting unauthorised access to websites. Now a team of computer scientists think they can do better with inkblot tests instead.
Three Questions for Microsoft’s New Head of Research, Peter Lee
As Microsoft prepares to absorb Nokia’s handset business, a new research strategy emerges.
Crowdsourcing Mobile App Takes the Globe’s Economic Pulse
A startup pays people around the world to log prices in their local stores each day, offering a real-time way to track how economies are doing.