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Public transport is ditching cash—but here’s why that’s ok

As bus systems experiment with eliminating onboard fareboxes, for example, operators will need to expand their fare vending networks—which include street-level vending machines as well as national chains like CVS and local... Read more »

The online vigilantes solving local crimes themselves

Increasingly, communities are turning to technology to help solve problems that the police are unable—or unwilling—to attend to. So that’s what I did: I went online, joining an increasing number of people... Read more »

How bike parking pods could make US cities better for cyclists

But the company’s mission is also about redressing the inequities of the cycling world, Stuart says. Bikes are often perceived as an amenity for gentrifiers, especially white upper-class professionals. But those with... Read more »

Big Tech remains silent on questions about data privacy in a post-Roe US

Google says in its terms of service that the company reserves the right to remove any content that violates the law or could harm other users, third parties, or Google itself. Those... Read more »

The world will need dozens of breakthrough climate technologies in the next decade

Such “advance market commitments” have enabled cutting-edge technologies to swiftly reach commercial markets in other fields, from vaccine development to commercial spaceflight. The same approach could shrink the timeline to scaling up... Read more »

Computers will be transformed by alternative materials and approaches—maybe sooner than you think

Optical computing, an early approach that was later abandoned in favor of binary electronic circuitry, is also moving forward. I am fascinated by the possibility of building computers that use light as... Read more »

Rewriting what we thought was possible in biotech

It’s been exciting to see technology that rewrites and improves what we thought was an established health concept—how to evaluate the need for knee surgery, for instance. With the help of technology,... Read more »

AI’s progress isn’t the same as creating human intelligence in machines

But GPT-3 suffers from several problems that researchers are working to address. It’s often inconsistent—you can get contradictory answers to the same question. Second, GPT-3 is prone to “hallucinations”: when asked who... Read more »

Materials with nanoscale components will change what’s possible

Thanks to this built-in responsiveness, future materials could be made with some decision-making capabilities and adaptability. Intelligent materials may be able to automatically release precise amounts of medication, heal themselves when damaged,... Read more »

A pro-China online influence campaign is targeting the rare-earths industry

China has come to dominate the market in recent years, and by 2017 the country produced over 80% of the world’s supply. Beijing achieved this by pouring resources into the study and... Read more »