Seven Must-Read Stories (Week Ending June 18, 2016)

Another chance to catch the most interesting, and important, articles from the previous week on MIT Technology Review. June 10, 2016

TR Staffarchive page

June 17, 2016

Basic Income: A Sellout of the American Dream
Schemes for giving everyone a guaranteed income are gaining momentum in Silicon Valley and throughout Western Europe. It’s a great idea, until you look closely.
Ultrasound Opens the Brain to Promising Drugs
The brain’s built-in protection system also prevents potentially lifesaving drugs from getting in, but maybe not for much longer.
Wind and Solar Will Be the Cheapest Way to Generate Power by 2040
Unfortunately, that’s not enough to win the climate-change battle.
Apple Rolls Out Privacy-Sensitive Artificial Intelligence
Software that analyzes friends’ faces or knows what’s in your photos must be restricted because of privacy concerns, says Apple.
A Chinese Rival Beats Uber at Its Own Game
Jean Liu explains how her ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing is besting Uber in China and why data is its biggest asset.
Why Startups Are Struggling
Even amid the venture capital boom of the past few years, entrepreneurs are finding it harder to build big, enduring companies. What does this mean for the future of innovation?
Can a Social-Media Algorithm Predict a Terror Attack?
Researchers unpacked how terrorists use social media, then built an algorithm that could help us predict future events.

Keep Reading

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

And that's a problem. Figuring it out is one of the biggest scientific puzzles of our time and a crucial step towards controlling more powerful future models.