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Magazine

10 Breakthrough Technologies 2018

March/April 2018

These advances will change our world in the coming years.

Letter from the editor

Tales of power and responsibility

Features

Categorized in
10 Breakthrough Technologies 2018
Categorized in Smart cities
A smarter smart city
An ambitious project by Alphabet subsidiary Sidewalk Labs could reshape how we live, work, and play in urban neighborhoods.
Categorized in Biotechnology and health
Forecasts of genetic fate just got a lot more accurate
DNA-based polygenic scores are getting better at predicting intelligence, risks for common diseases, and more.
Categorized in Artificial intelligence
The GANfather: The man who’s given machines the gift of imagination
By pitting neural networks against one another, Ian Goodfellow has created a powerful AI tool. Now he, and the rest of us, must face the consequences.
Categorized in Computing
Serious quantum computers are finally here. What are we going to do with them?
Hello, quantum world.

Also in this issue
- Terrible people have learned to exploit the internet. Yasmin Green is fighting back.
  The Jigsaw team at Alphabet brings people who were radicalized online back from the brink, one video at a time.
  Categorized in Policy
- The race to invent the artificial leaf
  In this excerpt from his new book Taming the Sun, Varun Sivaram follows the research paths of two rival scientists determined to find a way to wring fuel out of thin air.
  Categorized in 17037
- Can’t get new lungs? Try refurbished ones instead.
  Spruced-up human and animal organs could someday be the solution for people needing transplants.
  Categorized in Biotechnology and health
- “We’re in a diversity crisis”: cofounder of Black in AI on what’s poisoning algorithms in our lives
  Timnit Gebru looks around the AI world and sees almost no one who looks like her. That’s a problem for all of us.
  Categorized in Artificial intelligence
- Facebook’s app for kids should freak parents out
  Messenger Kids, its first grab at the under-13 crowd, is not to be trusted. After all, you’ve seen how the company treats adults.
  Categorized in Policy
- Social networks are broken. This man wants to fix them.
  Ethan Zuckerman on fighting social media’s echo chamber.
  Categorized in 17041
- Tech companies should stop pretending AI won’t destroy jobs
  No matter what anyone tells you, we’re not ready for the massive societal upheavals on the way.
  Categorized in 17032

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