The Digital Frontier
Advancements in 20th century medicine reshaped society and made good health an expectation, not an exception. Now, 21st century breakthroughs may end disease, reverse aging, and restore sight and hearing — perhaps sooner than we think.
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The West needs more water. This Nobel winner may have the answer.
Paul Migrom has an Emmy, a Nobel, and a successful company. There’s one more big problem on the to-do list.
Police spend 40% of their time on paperwork. Can AI help?
Axon’s AI innovations promise to free officers from desks, but not without questions of ethics. CEO Rick Smith addresses concerns and community trust:
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LLMs are a dead end to AGI, says François Chollet
AI researcher François Chollet thought we needed a better way to measure progress on the path to AGI — so he made one.
The next gen leaders transforming Haiti
More than crisis and chaos. Meet the new leaders who are reshaping Haiti, starting with an education system that honors their true identity.
Solid-state batteries are finally making their way out of the lab
Solid-state batteries could soon challenge lithium-ion as the dominant tech for powering smartphones, EVs, and more.
T-Minus: Counting down 10 upcoming moon missions
A countdown of 10 upcoming moon missions, all leading up to the one expected to return NASA astronauts to the lunar surface.
How humanity transformed its fate
From surviving on wild plants and game to controlling our world with technology, humanity’s journey of progress is a story of expanding human agency.
Why aren’t we automatically registered to vote? With this program, we could be
SecureAVR, also known as the “Motor Voter of the 21st Century,” makes registering to vote seamless and secure at the DMV. With millions more potential voters, here’s how this system could enhance democracy across the country.
2.6 billion people don’t use the internet. What’s stopping them?
One-third of the world still isn’t online. Here’s how the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is working to close the digital divide.
How the internet changed news, according to The Onion
Freethink spoke to Onion staffers about parodying news from the print era into the digital age.
The next big tech trend will start out looking like a toy
In “Read, Write, Own: Building The Next Era of the Internet,” investor Chris Dixon explains why the biggest trends often go overlooked.
My anxious generation: The unforeseen toll of a digital childhood
In this op-ed, columnist Rikki Schlott draws from personal experience to argue that a digital childhood is a childhood squandered.
Replit CEO Amjad Masad on bringing the next 1 billion software creators online
Freethink spoke with Masad about the future of software development, the outsized power of Silicon Valley, and the absurdity of the AI extinction theory.
Potato chips or heroin? The debate on social media and mental health
Experts disagree on whether social media causes mental health issues in adolescents despite looking at the same data. Here’s why.
Meet Thresh, the world’s first professional gamer
Was Elon Musk any good at Quake? “He’s a legit gamer,” but…
You’re thinking of the metaverse all wrong, says Matthew Ball
Rumors of the metaverse’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.
Hugo Mercier says we’ve been misinformed about misinformation
Cognitive scientist Hugo Mercier argues the problem isn’t that people are too gullible but too stubborn.
Constitutional warning shot for social media “deplatforming” laws
Can the government tell private websites what they have to publish?
Life was dirty, difficult, and dangerous for almost everyone who ever existed
9 minutes of cruel history may cure the anti-progress delusion.
9 dumbphones to help curb your screen addiction
While smartphones keep getting more powerful, the growing dumbphone phenomenon is subverting expectations.
How smart devices helped me unlock hidden health wins
By measuring many different body metrics, smart health devices can help support the mental game as much as the physical fitness gains.
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