Seven Must-Read Stories (Week Ending August 1, 2015)

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

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July 31, 2015

Amazon Lays Out Its Vision for a Sky Thronging with Delivery Drones
To get its drone delivery service off the ground, Amazon must convince regulators to adopt its ideas for drone traffic control.
Lessons from the Digital Classroom
Technologists and venture capitalists are betting that the data online learning generates will reshape education.
Chinese Carmaker Is Testing Car-to-Car Communications
China’s leading carmaker is testing technology that would let vehicles communicate wirelessly with each other and with traffic signals.
As Patents Expire, Farmers Plant Generic GMOs
Monsanto no longer controls one of the biggest innovations in the history of agriculture.
How to Help Self-Driving Cars Make Ethical Decisions
Researchers are trying to program self-driving cars to make split-second decisions that raise real ethical questions.
Messaging App Weaves Smartphones Into an Alternative Internet
FireChat can link Android and Apple phones into a long-range communications network even when the cell network is down.
China Will Soon Leapfrog Traditional Leaders in Nuclear Power
China generates only about 2 percent of its total electricity using nuclear power, but it is adding new reactors much faster than any other country.

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Large language models can do jaw-dropping things. But nobody knows exactly why.

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