Features

• Categorized in

  10 Breakthrough Technologies 2021
• Categorized in Humans and technology

  Are you ready to be a techno-optimist again?

  In 2001, we picked our first annual set of 10 breakthrough technologies. Here’s what their fates tell us about progress over the last two decades.
• Categorized in The Big Story: mRNA

  The next act for messenger RNA could be bigger than covid vaccines

  New messenger RNA vaccines to fight the coronavirus are based on a technology that could transform medicine. Next up: sickle cell and HIV.
• Categorized in Artificial intelligence

  Why GPT-3 is the best and worst of AI right now

  Open AI's language AI wowed the public with its apparent mastery of English – but is it all an illusion?
• Categorized in Computing

  How data trusts can protect privacy

  We can’t expect people to navigate the confusing world of data collection on their own. It’s time to join forces.
• Categorized in Climate change and energy

  Novel lithium-metal batteries will drive the switch to electric cars

  A new type of battery could finally make electric cars as convenient and cheap as gas ones.
• Categorized in Battling covid

  Digital contact tracing brought tech rivals together while the pandemic kept us apart

  Bitter enemies teamed up to build tools they hoped would help slow the virus’s spread.
• Categorized in Space

  Hyper-accurate positioning is rolling out worldwide

  Upgrades to satellites in orbit and systems down below will bring centimeter-level accuracy to the masses.
• Categorized in Humans and technology

  Some parts of remote living are here to stay

  The pandemic was a stress test for many kinds of remote services. Which ones passed?
• Categorized in Artificial intelligence

  AI armed with multiple senses could gain more flexible intelligence

  Human intelligence emerges from our combination of senses and language abilities. Maybe the same is true for artificial intelligence.
• Categorized in Humans and technology

  The beauty of TikTok’s secret, surprising, and eerily accurate recommendation algorithms

  The app’s “For You” page regularly features new or unknown creators alongside those with millions of fans.
• Categorized in Climate change and energy

  Cheap renewables could make green hydrogen a practical replacement for fossil fuels

  Hydrogen made using electricity generated from wind or solar power could provide a clean and carbon-neutral source of energy. Europe is leading the way.
• Categorized in The Big Story: Tech Policy

  How to fix what the innovation economy broke about America

  Across the country, small towns have been left behind. Finding a way to turn things around is crucial if American democracy is to be saved.
• Categorized in Biotechnology and health

  Why covid-19 might finally usher in the era of health care based on a patient’s data

  After nearly three decades of proselytizing, Lee Hood believes the pandemic may finally enable his vision of personalized, precision medicine for all.
• Categorized in Humans and technology

  How schools plan to close the pandemic education gap

  Many students fell behind as a result of remote learning. Now, educators are trying to figure out how to catch them up.
• Categorized in Humans and technology

  In pictures: up close with transhumanists

  They have many reasons for modifying their bodies, but transhumanists are united in their belief that technology can unlock a new way of being.