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why recommendation algorithms are a necessary evil
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why recommendation algorithms are a necessary evil

Experts are worried we’re ceding too many decisions to recommendation algorithms and are on a slippery slope to exploitation and learned helplessness. In reality, we’d be lost and very frustrated without them.

how killer robots can reshape the world’s militaries and geopolitics
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how killer robots can reshape the world’s militaries and geopolitics

The American military may be the best in the world, but too often, it’s fighting 21st-century wars with 20th-century ideas. Its foreign counterparts have an opportunity to master the wars of the future.

why and how we’re building and securing the quantum internet
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why and how we’re building and securing the quantum internet

In the next ten years or so, your internet experience will be the same as today. But that internet may be built on complex quantum interactions instead of bits and bytes flying between routers and servers.

welcome to the internet of (dumb, hackable, and possibly dangerous) things
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welcome to the internet of (dumb, hackable, and possibly dangerous) things

Gadgets connected to the internet and controlled by apps are everywhere, even in things that don’t need to be linked global communication networks. Unfortunately, they’re not working out well for us...

models and entertainers may get automated, but not how you might think…
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models and entertainers may get automated, but not how you might think…

If you’re in a creative, artistic industry, relying on your looks and presence to make a living, computers couldn’t possibly come for your job, right? Actually, they can, and here’s how.

digital gulag: why russia is experimenting with building its own internet
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digital gulag: why russia is experimenting with building its own internet

Threatened by the open, permissive architecture of the internet, Russia is doing a dry run at building its own. If it succeeds, the effects on the global economy and geopolitics would be far-reaching and unsettling.

how automation is stealing jobs and accidentally empowering populists
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how automation is stealing jobs and accidentally empowering populists

Automation is responsible for most jobs lost in the industrial world and could replace as much as two thirds of the developing world’s workforce. Why are we still pretending it’s decades away?

australia declares war on digital security, demands encryption backdoor
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australia declares war on digital security, demands encryption backdoor

Australian lawmakers stunned the country’s techies by passing a law requiring them to help law enforcement snoop on encrypted data on request, and putting e-commerce and basic digital security at risk.

new chinese app recruits citizens to spy on “deadbeat debtors”
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new chinese app recruits citizens to spy on “deadbeat debtors”

In a move straight of a Dickensian cyberpunk novel, a Chinese app alerts citizens if someone in debt is within 500 meters, and encourages spying on their spending habits.

the five technologies we can use to prevent catastrophic earthquake damage
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the five technologies we can use to prevent catastrophic earthquake damage

Earthquakes might be both powerful and inevitable. But we have the tools to soften their blows, save millions of lives, and save billions when cleaning up after them.

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