Emerging Tech

This is What Happens When High Schoolers Build Robots

A tournament for tech leaders of the future is rooted in traditions of the past.

Emerging Tech

Why ‘the Internet’ Can’t End Poverty or Defeat Putin

Pundits and scholars too often phrase queries that miss the point: The transformative power of any technology relies first on underlying human forces.

Modernization

2015 Is the Year of the Apple Watch

Why? Because it’s not just a new gadget.

Modernization

What Back to the Future II Got Wrong About 2015

The two big things the classic trilogy missed: The rise of mobile and the Internet.

Digital Government

What US Airlines Can Teach Us About the Debate Over Net Neutrality

In other words, it's the fast-lane effect.

Emerging Tech

NASA Scientists Want to Colonize Venus with Giant Floating Cities

The first phase of the proposal is to send a robot to do the dirty work.

Digital Government

The CIA Has a Problem with Biometric Surveillance

The same technology that flags terrorists could blow a spy's cover at European airports.

Emerging Tech

There’s Still No Governmentwide Definition of the Internet of Things

Key questions about the emerging technology remain unanswered, and the government is still firming up the basics.

Modernization

How Even the Remotest Parts of the World Are Getting Mobile Coverage

A new device is using regular radio spectrum to connect to mobile phones in its area.

Digital Government

A Computer Can Probably Create as Many Special Snowflakes as Nature

Given enough time, enough storage, and enough information on how a snowflake's path affects its growth, the answer is... maybe.

Modernization

In 5 Years, Smart Fridges Will Outnumber Fitness Trackers

Americans expect to first upgrade their thermostats and security systems, but look more than five years out, and smart fridges will be the big winners.

Emerging Tech

Sneaky Impersonator Robots Are Taking Over the Web

A new report finds overall bot traffic dipped, but "bad robots" are on the rise.

Emerging Tech

British Police Are Going Robocop

British bobbies may soon be ditching caps and tunics for a striking new digital look that includes a robotic exoskeleton and Google Glass.

Emerging Tech

Facebook Wants to Connect the Whole World to the Internet. Here’s Why That’s a Problem.

“It’s not as if anybody asked two-thirds of humanity whether they wanted to be put online.”

Emerging Tech

The Evolving Search for Life on Mars

Before the first spaceflight, humanity’s sense of what—or who—might be in our galactic neighborhood was, by today’s standards, remarkably optimistic.