Recommended from Around the Web (Week Ending August 9, 2014)
A roundup of the most interesting stories from other sites, collected by the staff at MIT Technology Review.
Israel, Gaza, War & Data
An important piece by network scientist Gilad Lotan on the way social recommendation algorithms can distort our experience of polarizing news coverage.
—Will Knight, news and analysis editor
The Next Great Light Bulb
Light bulbs aren’t just a symbol for innovation; they’re also still a product of innovation.
—Brian Bergstein, deputy editor
The 2014 Survey: Impacts of AI and Robotics by 2025
“There’s no … law that says jobs eliminated by new tech will inevitably be replaced by new jobs in new markets.”
—Jason Pontin, editor in chief and publisher
Finally, Virtual Reality Let Me Fly like a Bird
How the childhood dream of being able to fly could come (virtually) true via Oculus Rift and a full-body device called Birdly.
—Mike Orcutt, research editor
The New York Times, Tuesday, August 7, 1945
Hiroshima anniversary: 69 years ago today, a single bomb annihilated much of Hiroshima and changed the world forever.
—Antonio Regalado, senior editor, business
Don’t Let the Disruption Hype Fool You: America Is Actually Getting Less Entrepreneurial
“People are starting fewer new businesses, and older businesses are doing better than their younger competitors.”
—Antonio Regalado
Visual Microphone Can Pick Up Speech from a Bag of Potato Chips and
How to Translate Sight Into Sound? It’s All in the Vibrations
A bag of chips has potentially become more hazardous (and not to your health).
—J. Juniper Friedman, associate web producer
Eight Smart Ways to Strengthen Your Password
Quick tips for making all your passwords hacker-proof.
—Kyanna Sutton, senior Web producer