The Future, This Week

'It's able to create knowledge itself': Google unveils AI that learns on its own

In a major breakthrough for artificial intelligence, AlphaGo Zero took just three days to master the ancient Chinese board game of Go ... with no human help<p>Google’s artificial intelligence group, DeepMind, has unveiled the latest incarnation of its Go-playing program, AlphaGo – an AI so powerful …

Cutting-edge immunotherapy treatment approved for another deadly cancer

The Food and Drug Administration approved a second version of a groundbreaking treatment Wednesday that genetically alters patients' cells to attack cancer — this time, to fight aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma.<p>The treatment is for adults with certain types of large B-cell lymphoma who have not …

THE GIANT ROBOT DUEL

How to Spend $1,900 on Gene Tests Without Learning a Thing - MIT Technology Review

It can’t be good when America’s most famous cardiologist, one with 114,000 Twitter followers, posts to social media that your product’s value is …

The only job a robot couldn’t do

The gig economy is depressing. Crowdtap is worse.<p>About 8 percent of U.S. adults earn money by doing contract work through so-called “gig economy” …

Jeep hackers say the auto industry has embraced cyber security

Two security experts famed for hacking a Jeep say the auto industry is finally getting serious about cyber security.<p>Dr Charlie Miller and Chris …

Nobody Thinks About eBay

Even with 171 million users, the online shopping giant is grasping for relevancy.<p>“Fill your cart with color,” read several giant billboards standing high above San Francisco’s highways this summer. Down below, in the city’s underground BART stations, loud posters with proclamations like, “Shop like …

Alphabet’s Project Wing now delivers burritos by drone in southeastern Australia

It’s been a while since we last heard from Project Wing, X‘s moonshot drone delivery project. But after a few fallow months, the team posted an update today and it looks like the project has made quite some progress. Alphabet’s X unit is now testing the Project Wing drones in southeastern …

Executive Mentors Wanted. Only Millennials Need Apply.

Junior office workers once had a fairly predictable set of daily tasks. Write the sales memo. Build the PowerPoint. Make the coffee.<p>Now, many young professionals have a new mandate: Drag the boss into the 21st century.<p>While businesses chase evanescent market trends and grapple with a fast-moving …

Facebook acquires anonymous teen compliment app tbh, will let it run

Facebook wants tbh to be its next Instagram. Today, Facebook announced it’s acquiring positivity-focused polling startup tbh and will allow it to operate somewhat independently with its own brand.<p>tbh had scored 5 million downloads and 2.5 million daily active users in the past nine weeks with its …

Instead Of Destroying Jobs Artificial Intelligence (AI) Is Creating New Jobs In 4 Out Of 5 Companies

AI will lead to humans losing their jobs and widespread redundancy – that’s the theory, anyway. However new research has suggested that firms which are investing in smart, automated and self-teaching systems are more likely to be creating jobs with it.<p>Researchers at Capgemini surveyed 1,000 …

Tech giants living in fear of 'doing a Microsoft'

Steve Ballmer said something about Apple a decade ago that has followed the former Microsoft boss around like a bad smell ever since.<p>At the time, …

Pity the Lonely Chatbot

Robots can't pass the Turing Test yet, but they still deserve our empathy.<p><i>This is a companion piece to this week's Terraform, "The Flirtbot Condition."</i><p>Humans love it when robots try to act like us. Their struggles to scale our behavioral learning curves inspires an almost parental instinct. You can …

Tackling the horse manure mountain and pungent smells - Sydney's 175th birthday

Graphic details of some of the most odious and forgotten jobs in Sydney's past have emerged as the City of Sydney today announces details of a …

The World Once Laughed at North Korean Cyberpower. No More.

When North Korean hackers tried to steal $1 billion from the New York Federal Reserve last year, only a spelling error stopped them. They were digitally looting an account of the Bangladesh Central Bank, when bankers grew suspicious about a withdrawal request that had misspelled “foundation” as …

How Sci-Fi Writers Imagine Iraq’s Future

In a new speculative-fiction anthology series, Iraqi authors consider their country’s tumultuous present as they envision how it could look in the year 2103.<p>Speculative fiction from around the world has been gaining significant traction in the U.S. in recent years. Nordic sci-fi novels such as <i>The</i> …

How the Napa Fires Could Hurt 2017's Wine Grapes

Nick Goldschmidt has been lucky so far. A wildfire has burned more than 8,000 acres just north of his vineyards in Geyserville, California, but so …

Uber and Lyft Haven't Revolutionized the American City—Yet

Last month, the ride-hailing company Lyft released its vision for the future of Los Angeles. In a meticulous rendering depicting Angelenos of all …

AI pioneers say unethical uses of the technology need scrutiny to maintain public support

Two artificial intelligence pioneers warn that unscrupulous or unethical uses of the technology risk undermining the public image of an area of research undergoing rapid change.<p>Canadian deep learning "godfather" Yoshua Bengio believes the sector and governments need to address concerns including …

As the World Tweets, Social Media Chiefs Remain Tight-Lipped

If only Twitter, Facebook and Google could keep their stories straight.<p>They thrive by mining the private information of the billions of people who use them, many of whom are naïve about the value of what they are giving up with each post or click. But the companies are grudging at best when it …

[Interview] Polish president's advisor calls for online 'abstinence'

Andrzej Zybertowicz wants to keep some parts of society non-digital, and mused about banning "addictive technologies."

Algorithms Can Give Away Some People’s Sex Secrets - MIT Technology Review

The Download<p>What's up in emerging technology<p>October 12, 2017<p>Algorithms Can Give Away Some People’s Sex Secrets<p>Digital legacies can prove to be rather …

Should IoT Devices Come with Public Safety Warnings? - MIT Technology Review

The Download<p>What's up in emerging technology<p>October 13, 2017<p>Should IoT Devices Come with Public Safety Warnings?<p>You know, like the ones on cigarette …

Dubai police announce electric Star Wars-style hoverbikes for officers at Gitex tech conference

Dubai police have announced they will soon have officers buzzing around the skies on Star Wars-style electric hoverbikes capable of speeds of up to …

AI implants will allow us to control our homes with our thoughts within 20 years, government report claims

Artificially intelligent nano-machines will be injected into humans within 20 years to repair and enhance muscles, cells and bone, a senior inventor at IBM has forecast.<p>John McNamara, who works at IBM Hursley Innovation Centre, in Hampshire, submitted evidence to the House of Lords Artificial …

Could We Build a Blade Runner-Style ‘Replicant’?

The new <i>Blade Runner</i> sequel will return us to a world where sophisticated androids made with organic body parts can match the strength and emotions of …

AI Is Easy to Fool—Why That Needs to Change

Con artistry is one of the world’s oldest and most innovative professions, and it may soon have a new target. Research suggests artificial …

Cutting-Edge Talent Development: Staying on Top of New Workplace Innovations

Developing talent in a new workplace is a constantly evolving strategic function. New trends are driving the need to rewrite the rules. The rise of …

Does Our Survival Depend on Relentless Exponential Growth?

Malthus had a fever dream in the 1790s. While the world was marveling in the first manifestations of modern science and technology and the industrial …