The Changing World Order
Drones are the new bombs, code the new currency, chips the new oil, and AI the new everything. Technology has reshaped geopolitics forever and a new world order is being carved in silicon
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2.6 billion people don’t use the internet. What’s stopping them?
One-third of the world still isn’t online. Here’s how the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is working to close the digital divide.
The next big tech trend will start out looking like a toy
In “Read, Write, Own: Building The Next Era of the Internet,” investor Chris Dixon explains why the biggest trends often go overlooked.
Constitutional warning shot for social media “deplatforming” laws
Can the government tell private websites what they have to publish?
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UK test-fires its first high-energy laser weapon
The UK has successfully test-fired the $115 million DragonFire, its first high-powered, long-range laser weapon.
Deepfake audio has a tell – researchers use fluid dynamics to spot artificial imposter voices
Audio deepfakes potentially pose a huge threat, as people often communicate via phone calls, radio, and voice recordings.
Inventions that are fighting the rise of facial recognition technology
Combating the rise of facial-recognition technology, designers have created clothing and accessories to help to conceal people’s identities.
From CDs to NFTs: Starbucks’ surprising history of embracing new tech
Starbucks’ newly-announced blockchain platform is just the latest example of the chain’s early embracement of tech.
Starlink turns on coverage over Iran to bypass censorship
Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet is active over Iran, but the terminals to access it must make it inside the country.
This start-up is recycling abandoned wooden homes in Baltimore
The Baltimore Wood Project salvages wood from buildings to repurpose and resell locally to create a circular economy.
Heat pumps can cut your energy costs by up to 90%
Heat pumps are becoming all the rage around a world that has to slash carbon emissions rapidly while cutting energy costs.
Fighting poverty with direct cash payments
GiveDirectly has delivered over $500 million in cash to impoverished people, letting recipients decide how best to meet their needs.
Meta can (kinda) guess what you’ve heard via your brain waves
Meta has created an AI that can tell what you’re hearing based on non-invasive brain scan measurements.
Inside the crypto black markets of Argentina
Argentina’s black market for cash is embracing crypto — but it’s not what crypto proponents expected.
5 ways to cope with increasingly intense heatwaves
Heatwaves in Japan and Italy reached record-breaking temperatures in June. How can humans cope with these dangerous conditions?
US Army’s solar-powered drone is setting new records every day
A solar-powered drone being tested by the US Army has set a record for long-endurance flight, remaining aloft for more than 40 days straight.
How child mortality fell from 40% to 3.7% in 200 years
The collapse in child mortality rates is a testament to the tremendous benefits of scientific, technological, and economic progress.
3 ways autonomous farming is driving a new era of agriculture
Could autonomous tractors, drones, and seed-planters fill the growing labor shortage in the agricultural industry?
A historian identifies the worst year in human history
The year 536 ushered in the coldest decade in thousands of years and started a century of economic devastation.
AR’s first great use: never get lost again
The tech behind an AR shopping app helping grocery store customers find items could one day help you navigate airports, museums, and more.
UK tries cancer meds by drone
The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is using drone deliveries to make it easier for cancer patients to obtain chemotherapy.
A world map of start-up ambitions
In New Zealand, ambitious Kiwis want to launch a lawn mowing business; in South Africa, it’s cooking gas refills. Start-up dreams vary widely.
Winners announced: $50K Beautiful Minds competition on innovating higher ed
Each organization is helping people to prepare for and succeed in our fast-changing world.
How to be a techno-optimist
Technology will not save the world, and it is inherently neither good nor bad. But, when tech is coupled to human virtue, good will prevail.
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