Rocket Internet: Waiting for Lift-Off (behind paywall)
The Financial Times looks into a German tech incubator and finds financial fluff reminiscent of the late 1990s.
—Brian Bergstein, executive editor

Women in the Developing World Are 50 Percent Less Likely to Access the Internet as Men
A new report finds wide gender disparities in Internet access in parts of the world just coming online. The United Nations and companies such as Google and Facebook have launched efforts to widen Internet access in poor regions in recent years, citing evidence it helps provide economic opportunities (see “10 Breakthrough Technologies 2015: Project Loon”).
—Tom Simonite, San Francisco bureau chief

Playing Defense Against the Drones
An in-depth look at the diverse and frenzied efforts to develop technology to track, identify, and even disable drone aircraft. This week the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration announced that many drones, even those owned by hobbyists, would have to be registered with the government, after hundreds of incidents in which the craft were spotted by pilots or near airports.
—Tom Simonite

The Brain in the Machine
A fun story about a legendary, and somewhat controversial, figure in game development and AI.
—Will Knight, senior editor, AI

Yelp Is Using Image Search to Change How It Finds You a Bar
Here’s an interesting example of how deep learning could change the way we access information online. Yelp is using the AI technique to recognize the contents of photographs of bars and restaurants to help customers find the right place to have a beer or a bite.
—Will Knight

Farm Robot Learns What Weeds Look Like, Smashes Them
A device developed by Bosch can be trained to recognize weeds and then crush them using what is described, rather ominously, as “a ramming rod.” It’s all part of a broader trend of robots moving into new, more complex areas of agriculture.
—Will Knight

Talk Therapy Found to Ease Schizophrenia
Talk trumps medical technology. So says a government study involving some of the two million Americans with schizophrenia. The study found that lower doses of antipsychotic drugs and more one-on-one psychiatry helped patients recover faster than those taking heavy doses of antipsychotics.
—Antonio Regalado, senior editor, biomedicine