Magazine

Mysterious Machines

May/June 2017

Artificial intelligence is a black box that thinks in ways we don’t understand. That’s thrilling and scary.

Categorized in Artificial intelligence
The Dark Secret at the Heart of AI
No one really knows how the most advanced algorithms do what they do. That could be a problem.
Categorized in Policy
Russian Disinformation Technology
Russia’s reinvention of war exploits old techniques for a new century. Open-source citizen investigators are fighting back.
Categorized in Policy
Treating Addiction with an App
Using smartphone data and artificial intelligence to track and interpret behavior, a Chicago startup is attempting something extraordinary: predicting and preventing relapse into drug use.
Categorized in Climate change and energy
The Growing Case for Geoengineering
As climate change accelerates, a handful of scientists are eager to move ahead with experiments testing ways to counteract warming artificially. Their reasoning: we just might get desperate enough to use this technology one day.
Categorized in Biotechnology and health
James Allison Has Unfinished Business with Cancer
Why do most patients fail to respond to the newest cures?
Categorized in 17036
The 3-D Printer That Could Finally Change Manufacturing
Desktop Metal thinks its machines will give designers and manufacturers a practical and affordable way to print metal parts.

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