Seven Must-Read Stories (Week Ending December 27, 2014)

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

December 26, 2014

Singapore Wants a Driverless Version of Uber
Singapore plans to let anyone test driverless cars in one of its busy neighborhoods in 2015.
The Startup Meant to Reinvent What Bitcoin Can Do
A company given $21 million by leading Silicon Valley investors aims to extend Bitcoin’s functionality so it can power much more than just payments.
2015 Could Be the Year of the Hospital Hack
Health-care organizations often store medical records and other information insecurely.
Cuba’s Internet Revolution Faces Economic and Political Realities
The new White House approach could help Cubans gain access to the Internet—but the question is whether the regime will play ball.
“Smart” Software Can Be Tricked Into Seeing What Isn’t There
Humans and software see some images differently, pointing out shortcomings of recent breakthroughs in machine learning.
A Prototype Battery Could Double the Range of Electric Cars
Startup Seeo has developed batteries that store far more energy than conventional ones, which could extend the range of electric cars.
Best of 2014: Forget the Shortest Route Across a City; New Algorithm Finds the Most Beautiful
If you prefer beautiful routes over short ones, GPS mapping algorithms are of little use. But In July, Yahoo researchers came up with an approach that could change that.

One insider says the company’s current staffing isn’t able to sustain the platform.

Digital clones of the people we love could forever change how we grieve.

I watched a bunch of crows on TikTok and now I'm trying to connect with some local birds.

Elon said no thanks to using his mega-constellation for navigation. Researchers went ahead anyway.

Illustration by Rose Wong

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