The Olympic torch has not yet entered Rio de Janiero’s Maracana Stadium and media reports out of Brazil already depict a city ill-prepared for the events ahead. But the success of these Olympic games will not ultimately be determined in the coming weeks, or even the next several months. The legacy of the games is formed well after the Olympic […]
Engineers implanted tiny sensors in rats’ nerve endings. Are humans next?
Sensors the size of a grain of sand could one day explain what’s happening in your body from the inside out. Engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, implanted wireless sensors measuring just one millimeter cubed in the muscles and nerves of lab rats, then used ultrasound waves to extract information from them about how well […]
Chinese company tests giant bus that drives over cars
Every urban commuter laments the twice-a-day headache of traffic congestion, and the often-disappointing alternatives that mass transit offers. A Chinese company has officially rolled out one potential solution: the TEB-1, or Transit Elevated Bus. The giant “flying” bus, as some have called it, straddles two lanes of traffic and stands nearly 16 feet tall so that it can pass over cars on the […]
Farming on the moon and meat grown in a lab. Six thoughts on the future of food.
As a technologist turned restaurateur, Kimbal Musk thinks daily about the future of food. His own collection of restaurants, named The Kitchen and Next Door, aim to shake up food distribution by sourcing ingredients locally and providing fresh, natural food at sensible prices. His company, also called The Kitchen, builds hundreds of school gardens to teach children in low-income communities about healthy eating. […]
The future of produce is ugly
The future of produce is ugly. Twisted, blemished, mutated and deformed, to be specific. That’s because an increasing number of grocery chains and crop-sharing services have begun stocking and distributing fruits and vegetables that were once deemed unfit for sale based solely on appearance. To be clear, these goods aren’t damaged or rotten or distasteful. If a chef chopped […]
The FCC is pushing Internet innovation forward — and holding it back
The FCC published a pair of decisions last week that show in sharp contrast the right and wrong ways regulators use their authority to shape the trajectory of disruptive technologies. This time, the continuing evolution of the Internet is at stake. First, the agency voted to open large amounts of very high frequency radio spectrum […]
AI may soon monitor your live videos on Twitter, Facebook
“She got caught up in the likes,” was how a prosecutor described the 18-year-old Ohio woman who is accused of live-streaming the alleged rape of her 17-year-old friend. There is no question that live-stream apps, such as Periscope and Facebook Live Video, carry the risk of exposing audiences to heinous images. In rare but harrowing incidents, users have watched as suicide, rape or […]
How Apple can make money after the iPhone
Apple reported lackluster earnings Tuesday as the company’s iPhone sales continued to slide. The numbers make it clear that the future of the consumer products behemoth is no longer in its consumer products. The fix? Apple should release a version of iOS for non-Apple devices. This suggestion will seem like heresy to the brand’s loyalists, but it may be necessary […]
The VCR is dead and it’s okay to feel sad. Why we mourn the demise of technology.
The prolonged and foreseeable death of the VCR that was reported last week seemed to spark a wave of denial, grief and disillusionment that only comes with the passing of a much-beloved friend. But with the exception of a few technology holdouts or VHS connoisseurs, chances are that most people who still own videocassette recorders have let […]
The VCR is officially dead. Yes, it was still alive.
The videocassette recorder that revolutionized home entertainment by allowing television audiences to capture their favorite shows on tape and watch them at their leisure will die later this month after a decade-long battle with obsolescence. It is roughly 60 years old. Known to every child of the 1980s and ’90s as the VCR, the machine became a fixture under the television […]
Why Elon Musk’s crazy plans for Tesla are perfectly sane
Elon Musk recently laid out a “master plan” for where his company, Tesla Motors, is heading. The vision is undoubtedly ambitious: four new kinds of Tesla vehicles, solar initiatives, autonomous driving technologies and a ride-sharing program. Judging by the subsequent 3 percent dip in Tesla’s stock price, the markets don’t appreciate Musk’s vision or the promise of these technologies. They […]
Peter Thiel: U.S. innovation in ‘staggering decline’ and Donald Trump will rebuild it
Tech investor and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel told delegates at the Republican National Convention on Thursday night that the U.S. economy is “broken” and that our “once high-tech” government has fallen behind in the research and development that made it a leader in innovation. Thiel lamented fighter jets that can’t fly in the rain and nuclear bases […]
Your smartphone screen will soon be a lot stronger
Dropping your smartphone mid-selfie may soon be less traumatic. New York glass maker Corning has unveiled the latest iteration of Gorilla Glass, which the company claims is four times as likely to survive a fall from waist or shoulder height as its competitors. The company’s Gorilla Glass products have been used in 4.5 billion devices since 2007, […]
Humans once opposed coffee and refrigeration. Here’s why we often hate new stuff.
Humans have a habit of stalling their own progress. From coffee to mechanical refrigeration to genetically altered food, history is littered with innovations that sparked resistance before becoming fixtures in everyday life. The same theme is playing out today as some lawmakers and consumers question the safety of driverless cars, the economic impact of automation or the security of mobile banking […]
Why the automotive throne of the future may belong to Germany
The day when intelligent, automated cars will ferry many of us around is still a long way off. But even partly automated vehicles, such as Tesla’s Model S, have recently raised questions about their safety and reliability. And amid mounting scrutiny over this technology, German officials are proposing that all new vehicles equipped with autopilot […]
This tool gender-swapped the voices of tech job candidates. Here’s what happened.
When Allie Lerner worked as a tech recruiter, she saw a lot of biased hiring. “The kind of discrimination and bias I witnessed went beyond gender and race, though those are certainly palpable and very, very real. It was discrimination against people without pedigree as well,” she said, mentioning that a prestigious university or previous […]
This agency loses a quarter of its workers each year — and that’s a good thing
DARPA has a strategy for maintaining its innovative culture that may seem controversial: Roughly a quarter of its workforce leaves every year. The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency released a report this month that says most of the organization’s nonadministrative employees vacate their jobs every four to five years. Many even view the expiration date on their security clearances, which […]
Google’s new emoji aim to combat gender inequality
You can grow up to be anything you want to be — and now so can your emoji. Google unveiled a slew of female emoji characters Thursday that the tech giant says are designed to promote gender equality. They depict women with an array of skin tones in various professional careers, including rock star, doctor and welder emoji. […]
This robot takes power walking to a new level
The DURUS robot can walk more than a mile in man’s shoes. A pair of size 13, Adidas sneakers, to be specific. Engineers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have tackled what they describe as a deceptively difficult challenge: develop a battery-powered robot that mimics the subtle complexity of the human footstep. Aaron Ames, an associate […]
Meet the man who controls drones with his mind
The future of robotic warfare could be nigh. An engineering professor at Arizona State University is developing technology that would allow an Air Force pilot to control an entire fleet of drones using his mind. Panagiotis Artemiadis runs the university’s Human-Oriented Robotics and Control Lab, where researchers seek to understand and improve interactions between humans and robots. The lab was […]
The Vatican just digitized this 1,600-year-old epic
Virgil wrote his classic poem, “The Aeneid,” more than 2,000 years ago. Thanks to the Vatican, you can now read one of the the world’s oldest versions of the ancient Latin text online. The Vatican Apostolic Library announced Friday that it has digitized a 1,600 year-old manuscript that contains “fragments” of the epic, which tells the tale of the […]
Four unexpected ways people are using drones
The unmanned aircrafts are good for more than just aerial images.
After the fatal Tesla crash, I still feel safe in my self-driving car
At first, the thought of letting my car drive itself seemed rather frightening. But the highway was almost empty and the lanes were clearly marked, so I took the risk and engaged the autopilot function in my new Tesla Model X. Yet I couldn’t let go of the steering wheel. I didn’t want to put […]
Why treating the Internet as a public utility is bad for consumers
Open Internet advocates celebrated long and loud in June when a federal court upheld the Federal Communications Commission’s so-called “net neutrality” rules that prohibit broadband access providers from blocking websites or accepting payment to prioritize traffic. But consumers and businesses should look beneath the rhetoric to see larger dangers lurking in the FCC’s actions. The […]
This backpack can carry 150 pounds of gear, thanks to rocket science
History is littered with technologies that wound their way from the defense and aerospace industries into our everyday lives. From radar to GPS, civilians have benefited greatly from advances that were once the domain of deep-pocketed contractors and corporations. Now, one of these technologies is coming down to earth in the form of a backpack frame. The frame […]
This new device can visualize your thoughts (sort of)
The idea of a device that can materialize one’s memories out of thin air seems like it could only exist in science fiction. But in a new study, researchers were able to pretty accurately sketch out the thoughts of participants simply by scanning their brains. It’s helping scientists understand how memory works in the human […]
Obama’s greatest legacy may be the global entrepreneurship he sparked
It is rare to go to a government event, especially where political leaders are speaking, in which you can stay awake or be truly inspired. Indeed, I had very low expectations of President Obama’s Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES), which was held at Stanford University last week. I thought it would be nothing more than a […]
A new device could help bikers catch cars that drive too close to them
Drivers who ride a little too close to cyclists on the road could soon be caught red-handed. A new technology adopted by law enforcement in Ottawa, Canada, could help to enforce legal distance between bikers and cars on the road. The device, which is mounted on a bicycle’s handlebars like a bike bell, uses sonar technology to measure the distance between the […]
Wake up to a freshly brewed cup of coffee with this alarm clock
Stumble to the coffeemaker on groggy mornings no more. The Barisieur, an alarm clock that brews coffee or tea as you wake up, may make its way to your bedside table via London. Britain-based industrial designer Josh Renouf began work on the product as an undergraduate at Nottingham Trent University in 2014. For his final project, […]
The amazing artificial intelligence we were promised is coming, finally
We have been hearing predictions for decades of a takeover of the world by artificial intelligence. In 1957, Herbert A. Simon predicted that within 10 years a digital computer would be the world’s chess champion. That didn’t happen until 1996. And despite Marvin Minsky’s 1970 prediction that “in from three to eight years we will […]
NASA’s new electric plane could be a significant step toward a cleaner era of aviation
NASA is developing an electric plane to accelerate the introduction of zero-emission aircraft that use less energy and cruise at higher speeds than the aircraft of today. If successful, the plane could become a significant first step toward a new era of more efficient and environmentally friendly air travel. The electric plane, which NASA is […]
How to get a free ride in a self-driving shuttle this summer
Local Motors officially unveiled its self-driving shuttle Thursday and said it will begin giving free rides to the public in Maryland this summer. The electric vehicle, which seats 12, will drive slowly on public roads in National Harbor, Md., operating at speeds between 3 and 8 mph, according to chief executive Jay Rogers. He characterized Olli as a “friendly […]
The city where cyclists have buttons on their bikes to report unsafe streets
In London, a crowdsourced effort to track unsafe streets for bike commuters is giving cyclist advocates and the local government new insight into where the most dangerous spots to ride are. Last week, 500 cyclists begin riding around the city with a button on their handlebars that they are instructed to push when they feel […]
This computer is selecting sound effects for silent videos that seem so real humans can’t tell they’re fake
MIT researchers have developed a computer system that independently adds realistic sounds to silent videos. Although the technology is nascent, it’s a step toward automating sound effects for movies. In a series of videos of drumsticks striking things — including sidewalks, grass and metal surfaces — the computer learned to pair a fitting sound effect, such as the sound […]
What happens when your search engine is first to know you have cancer
This week researchers demonstrated that by analyzing a person’s Web searches they could in some cases predict an upcoming diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. The team of researchers aren’t pancreatic cancers experts, but computer scientists at Microsoft. Unlike traditional medical professionals, they have the advantage of access to a trove of data that Microsoft collects through […]
Why America’s drone problem may not be as bad as everyone thinks
A new report suggests that drone pilots are now flying more responsibly amid heightened public concerns over the dangers of the unmanned aerial vehicles. The Academy of Model Aeronautics analyzed FAA data and found that even as drone sales surge, drone sightings by airplane pilots have declined. Aviation safety experts have long warned that a drone […]
Democracy is a great thing, except in the workplace
“The Soviet Union I left behind was a dictatorship but the workplace was a democracy; America may be free but the workplace is a dictatorship” said Len Erlikh after I hired him at First Boston (now Credit Suisse First Boston) in 1986. Being of the Jewish faith, he had fled the U.S.S.R.’s religious persecution. Erlikh’s […]
Google’s computers are creating songs. Making music may never be the same.
Google has launched a project to use artificial intelligence to create compelling art and music, offering a reminder of how technology is rapidly changing what it means to be a musician, and what makes us distinctly human. Google’s Project Magenta, announced Wednesday, aims to push the state of the art in machine intelligence that’s used […]
Even cowboy jobs may not be safe from robots
An Australian professor is developing a robot to monitor the health of grazing livestock, a development that could bring big changes to a profession that’s relied largely on a low-tech approach for decades but is facing a labor shortage. Salah Sukkarieh, a robotics professor at the University of Sydney, sees robots as necessary given how cattlemen are aging. […]
The 15 most important slides in Mary Meeker’s Internet trends report
Mary Meeker’s annual Internet trend report has become something of a rite of summer. Every year, Meeker, a leading venture capital analyst, comes up with an extraordinary collection of data on a wide range of topics in the innovation economy, revealing in broad and specific terms where the Internet and related technologies are and where […]
What you are doing online and other top findings from an exhaustive study of the Internet
Mary Meeker, a venture capitalist at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, released her 21st annual report on the biggest trends in technology and the Internet on Wednesday. The report, which is embedded in its entirety above, covers a wide swath of issues, from slowing smartphone sales, photo sharing and online advertising. Here’s a quick take on […]
The military’s stealth motorcycles are as quiet as an electric toothbrush
The military is funding stealth motorcycles, which would allow riders to quickly sneak up on unsuspecting enemies. The motorcycles operate at 55 decibels — about the level of an electric toothbrush or typical conversation — yet still can reach 80 mph in speed. The extreme quiet is due to the use of electric motors. The motorcycles […]
The chilling effect Peter Thiel’s battle with Gawker could have on Silicon Valley journalism
Gawker infringes on privacy and publishes tabloid-like stories that damage reputations. It is one of the most sensationalist and objectionable media outlets in the country. It also has not been kind to me. So it’s not a company that I would expect to be defending. But I worry that the battle that billionaire Peter Thiel has […]
Ex-McDonald’s CEO says raising the minimum wage will help robots take jobs
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