Better Babies
“The qualities we want in a child or in society can’t be had by tweaking a few nucleotides.”
—Brian Bergstein, executive editor

Inside Mark Zuckerberg’s Bold Plan for the Future of Facebook
Lengthy article about the Facebook founder’s technological ambitions, including making artificial-intelligence software “better than humans at vision, hearing, language, general cognition” within five to 10years. Read this feature for more on Facebook’s AI research: “Teaching Machines to Understand Us.”
—Tom Simonite, San Francisco bureau chief

Drone Maker DJI Adds Technology to Limit Where Its Machines Can Fly
The world’s leading manufacturer of small drones, including the one that crashed on the White House lawn in January, is rolling out software that makes it possible for authorities to block flights in emergencies. DJI’s software already barred flights in certain locations, such as airports. The upgrade means that emergency personnel or police could impose new restrictions if needed–for example, to prevent flights near a forest fire.
—Tom Simonite

I Turned Off JavaScript for a Whole Week and It Was Glorious
It might sound like sheer lunacy, but what if the key to a better Web experience was deactivating the scripting language that lets modern websites do so much?
—Will Knight, senior editor, AI

Helping Hand
A fascinating story about the way computer games and robots are helping some stroke patients.
—Will Knight

The Doomsday Invention
For those with some time on their hands, the New Yorker’s piece on Nick Bostrom, the drive to develop artificial intelligence, and the ethical debates that has raised makes a technical tale quite human.
—Nanette Byrnes, senior editor, Business Reports

On Fake Instagram, a Chance to Be Real
Interesting insight into social-media trends among millennials. 
—Kyanna Sutton, senior Web producer

Anonymous vs. the Islamic State
A good explanation of the hacktivist collective’s efforts against ISIS.
—Mike Orcutt, research editor

Nudging the Space Station
An earthquake visualized.
—J. Juniper Friedman, associate Web producer