The Changing World Order
Drones are the new bombs, code the new currency, chips the new oil, and AI the new everything. Technology has reshaped geopolitics forever and a new world order is being carved in silicon
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Why progress was so slow, for so long
Progress was agonizingly slow for most of human history, but the rapid progress of the last few centuries was not a fluke.
America underestimates the difficulty of bringing manufacturing back
Tariffs won’t bring manufacturing back to the US, but there are ways to make it happen — if America is serious about doing so.
Pantheon creator Craig Silverstein on uploading our brains to the internet
How the cult hit sci-fi show imagines a “techno-realist” future.
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How child mortality fell from 40% to 3.7% in 200 years
The collapse in child mortality rates is a testament to the tremendous benefits of scientific, technological, and economic progress.
3 ways autonomous farming is driving a new era of agriculture
Could autonomous tractors, drones, and seed-planters fill the growing labor shortage in the agricultural industry?
A historian identifies the worst year in human history
The year 536 ushered in the coldest decade in thousands of years and started a century of economic devastation.
AR’s first great use: never get lost again
The tech behind an AR shopping app helping grocery store customers find items could one day help you navigate airports, museums, and more.
UK tries cancer meds by drone
The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is using drone deliveries to make it easier for cancer patients to obtain chemotherapy.
A world map of start-up ambitions
In New Zealand, ambitious Kiwis want to launch a lawn mowing business; in South Africa, it’s cooking gas refills. Start-up dreams vary widely.
Winners announced: $50K Beautiful Minds competition on innovating higher ed
Each organization is helping people to prepare for and succeed in our fast-changing world.
How to be a techno-optimist
Technology will not save the world, and it is inherently neither good nor bad. But, when tech is coupled to human virtue, good will prevail.
This starchy wondercrop could help alleviate food insecurity
Enset, a perennial banana-like fruit cultivated in southwestern Ethiopia, is an underexploited starch crop with significant potential.
Apple Watch now approved to track Parkinson’s symptoms
Apple Watch motion data will now be incorporated into Rune Labs’ StrivePD app, which tracks Parkinson’s symptoms.
Why Africa’s newest super-bridge is in the continent’s weirdest border zone
The Kazungula Bridge has turned a cartographic near-miss into a geopolitical marvel, with a chance to renew Africa’s economy.
Where does the plastic in our oceans come from?
Which countries and rivers emit the most plastic to the ocean? What does this mean for solutions to tackle plastic pollution?
We need to know about progress if we’re concerned about the world’s large problems
Our World in Data explains their mission to publish the “research and data to make progress against the world’s largest problems.”
Virginia launches world’s biggest 3D-printed housing project
Construction company Alquist 3D plans to build 200 3D-printed houses over the next 5 years through Project Virginia.
Digital technology can cut global emissions by 15%. Here’s how.
The grand challenge for humanity is to ensure that groundbreaking technologies have a clear purpose for our planet.
Longtermism’s perspective on humanity’s past, present, and future
If we manage to avoid a large catastrophe, we can see ourselves as living at the early beginnings of human history.
Walmart drone delivery now covers 4 million households
The Walmart drone delivery program is expanding from one state to six, bringing the service to as many as 4 million households.
What the world will look like in the year 250,002,018
On Pangaea Proxima, the supercontinent of the future, Cape Town and Mexico City are just a day’s drive apart.
A more efficient way of urban mining gold
Researchers at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology say they have developed the world’s most efficient way of urban mining gold
Bluetooth hack breaks into cars and smart locks
Researchers in the UK have identified a vulnerability in Bluetooth-based locks, including Kwikset smart locks and Teslas.
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