Subscribe to our Newsletter

The smart city is a perpetually unrealized utopia

What is interesting about both early and current visions of urban sensing networks and the use that could be made of the data they produced is how close to and yet how... Read more »

The Download: Retrofitting cities, and Alexa mimics the dead

The scars and pockmarks of the aging apartments and housing units under the purview of the New York City Housing Authority don’t immediately communicate the idea of innovation. The largest landlord in... Read more »

The future of urban housing is energy-efficient refrigerators

Katerra’s all-encompassing vision of reforming the construction world, using billions of dollars in investment to build an entirely new production system from the ground up, showcased stereotypical Silicon Valley arrogance. It also... Read more »

The Download: China’s possible surveillance sanctions, and hacking locusts

You may never have heard of Hikvision, but chances are you’ve already been captured by one of its millions of cameras. The Chinese company’s products can be found anywhere from police surveillance... Read more »

Maximize business value with data-driven strategies

3. Empowering sustainable decision-makingEnvironmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues are making companies rethink the way they do business. Whether it’s planning decisions around building locations, future supply chain routes, or the amount... Read more »

Scientists hacked a locust’s brain to sniff out human cancer

In all cases, the animals are thought to be sensing chemicals that people emit through body odor or breath. The mix of chemicals can vary depending on a person’s metabolism, which is... Read more »

Energy-hungry data centers are quietly moving into cities

When you think of data centers, you probably picture a giant server farm in a rural area where electricity is cheap and tax breaks are plentiful. Big tech companies like Google, Amazon... Read more »

The world’s biggest surveillance company you’ve never heard of

For example, the research found 55,455 Hikvision networks in London. “From my experience of just walking around London, it would probably be several times over that. They’re in almost every supermarket,” says... Read more »

A locust’s brain has been hacked to sniff out cancer

In all cases, the animals are thought to be sensing chemicals that people emit through body odor or breath. The mix of chemicals can vary depending on a person’s metabolism, which is... Read more »

The Download: India’s delivery apps, and covid vaccines for young children

From 7 a.m. until well past dusk, seven days a week, N. Sudhakar sits behind the counter of his hole-in-the wall grocery store in the south Indian city of Bangalore. Packed floor... Read more »