Artificial Intelligence Learns to Talk Back to Bigots
Algorithms are already used to remove online hate speech. Now scientists have taught an AI to respond—which they hope might spark more discourse. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Why Machine Learning Is Critical for Disaster Response
It can help decision makers answer questions such as “When?” and “How bad?”—and “How many people are in harm’s way?”
50, 100 & 150 Years Ago: October 2019
Eating arsenic, what to do in case of fire, bubble computers, and more
Your Brain on Google Maps
For better or for worse, navigation apps change our sense of direction
To Invent a Quantum Internet
The physicist and computer scientist Stephanie Wehner is planning and designing the next internet—a quantum one
Humans Can Improve Technology without Really Understanding It
Small tweaks, not deep physical insight, can lead to a better mousetrap
3-D Printers Could Help Spread Weapons of Mass Destruction
Experts warn that new technology makes it easier to covertly produce WMDs
If You Want to Freak Out, Do a Web Search of Your Symptoms
You can find good information, but there's a lot more bad
“Particle” Robots Work Together to Perform Tasks
Clusters of decentralized units could be used in search and rescue operations or drug delivery
Scientists Tripped People for Science
An elaborate setup allowed researchers to study how people stumble and recover
Misinformation Has Created a New World Disorder
Our willingness to share content without thinking is exploited to spread disinformation
How to Defraud Democracy
A worst-case cyberwarfare scenario for the 2020 American presidential election