The Future, This Week

This Is How Sexism Works in Silicon Valley

<b>In December 2010</b>, Sheryl Sandberg gave a talk about women’s leadership in which she mentioned “sitting at the table.” Women, she said, have to pull …

We Can’t Stop Checking the News Either. Welcome to the New FOMO

This other type of FOMO, the all-news, all-the-time kind, is new enough that nobody has really studied it much, yet of the half-dozen experts in …

An error made in 1925 led to a crisis in modern science—now researchers are joining to fix it

In 1908, the Guinness brewer William Gosset published a revolutionary paper titled “The Probable Error of the Mean.” Gosset, who published under the pseudonym “Student” at his employer’s request, often conducted experiments on the impact of new ingredients on the composition of his beer—such as the …

Massive Robot Dance Party Sets A Guinness World Record

A Computer to Rival the Brain

More than two hundred years ago, a French weaver named Joseph Jacquard invented a mechanism that greatly simplified textile production. His design replaced the lowly draw boy—the young apprentice who meticulously chose which threads to feed into the loom to create a particular pattern—with a series …

China fosters innovative AI research through competition

The Chinese government has been unequivocal in its goal to become the global AI leader. Three of the largest tech companies in China — Sougou, China’s second-biggest search giant, Sinovation Ventures, and internet firm Bytedance — have joined forces to bring that plan to fruition. The companies …

Civilization Is Breaking Down—Here's What We Need to Do About It

“I think civilization is fundamentally breaking down today.” These were the opening words of Salim Ismail’s talk at Singularity University’s Global …

AI Learns Sexism Just By Studying Photographs

Today<p>“Spoon” is to “woman” as “tennis racket” is to “man.” At least, that’s according to AI algorithms trained on two of the more common collections …

Computer says no: Irish vet fails oral English test needed to stay in Australia

Louise Kennedy, a native English speaker with two degrees, says flawed technology is to blame<p>An Irish veterinarian with degrees in history and politics has been unable to convince a machine she can speak English well enough to stay in Australia.<p>Louise Kennedy is a native English speaker, has …

Hapless robot in shelf stack fail proves our jobs are safe - for now

Robots could one day take our jobs, but it seems that could be a few years away, at least judging by this hapless machine’s poor attempt at stacking shelves.<p>Almost a third of British jobs are at risk of being taken over by robotics and artificial intelligence by 2030, a report suggests, but shelf …

'I was trying to decide what accent to use for my re-test' - Irish engineer who failed Australian visa English fluency test marked by automatic program

An Irish engineer who found himself being judged as not able to speak English fluently by an automated computer program has warned people seeking …

This Battery Breakthrough Could Change Everything | Backchannel

<b>As technology tries to maintain</b> its dizzying ascent, one dead weight has kept its altitude in check: the battery. Our chips keep getting faster and …

It's possible that we can build a society where people don't have to work – here's how

Work isn’t working anymore. Labour productivity has fallen in the UK since the financial crisis; 13.5 million people are living in low-income …

You Think Silicon Valley Has a Problem with Diversity? China’s Is Way Worse

August 17, 2017<p>James Damore became a poster boy for the alt-right last week when he wrote a memo suggesting that women weren’t necessarily suited to …

The Expense of Renewables Is Outweighed by the Health-Care Savings They Provide

Today<p>So says new research by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, who have studied the economic impact of clean-energy installations …

Chart: Tesla is the World's 4th Largest Auto Maker by Value

Tesla is the World’s 4th Largest Automaker by Value<p>This is despite only delivering 76,230 vehicles in 2016.<p><i>The Chart of the Week is a weekly Visual</i> …

3 megatrends that will drive digital business into the next decade - Gartner

'These mega-trends illustrate that the more organisations are able to make technology an integral part of employees', partners' and customers' …

'We're working ourselves to death': Why the work week should be 15 hours

A 15-hour work week sounds too good to be true. Especially when many Australians work excessive hours, often for no additional pay, and struggle with …

How Amazon's Alexa will upend wealth management

Alexa, manage my practice.<p>Advisors wondering how Amazon will enter wealth management should look to its cloud computing arm, Amazon Web Services, …

Being exploited and breaching your visa: the limited choices of the food delivery worker

Some of the most vulnerable workers in the Australian labour market are squeezed between a rock and a hard place.<p>You can never do your homework, you …

Is freelancing the future of employment?

Today, freelancers represent 35% of the United States workforce. In the European Union, the rate is 16.1%. Both figures demonstrate the same global …

We regret to inform you that your vegan cheese is now problematic

The Daiya brand of vegan cheese was acquired by a corporation that tests on animals. What are vegans to do?

When government hides decisions behind software

In July, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Sharon Reardon considered whether to hold Lamonte Mims, a 19-year-old accused of violating his probation, …

Why Renewable Energy Is Not as Clean as You Think

OK, so the fight against climate change isn’t going flawlessly. But there is some cause for optimism, right? Money is plowing into cheap solar …

Microsoft Teaches Autonomous Gliders to Make Decisions on the Fly

HAWTHORNE, Nev. — As the glider turned and flew south, four men gave chase in a sport utility vehicle below, rolling through the Nevada desert.<p>From the front seats, two of the men tracked the glider by sight. In the back, the other two followed the flight on their laptops, eyeballing data sent from …

Chill: Robots Won’t Take All Our Jobs

SCROLL DOWN<p>SCROLL DOWN<p>SCROLL DOWN<p>SCROLL DOWN<p>Last year, the Japanese company SoftBank opened a cell phone store in Tokyo and staffed it entirely with …

How Spotify Playlists Create Hits

With more than 60 million subscribers, the streaming service can make or break a song. Here's how the industry is adjusting<p>Last month, Spotify …

This necklace camera livestreams your life so you're not wasting it looking through your phone

As easy as it is to livestream with your smartphone, it also takes us out of the moment. Instead of seeing and experiencing events, we now watch them through a glass screen.<p>But it doesn't have to be that way. Ubiquiti's FrontRow is a new kind of livestreaming camera that's disguised inside of a …

Is Mindfulness Meditation BS or Not? Yes

Going Up<p>Is mindfulness meditation a capitalist tool or a path to enlightenment? Yes<p>by Robert Wright | illustrations by Valero Doval<p>08.12.17<p>It’s hard …