Ideas
What it will take for robots to start doing our chores
MIT’s Daniela Rus makes the case for robotic co-workers, robotic toys — and tables and chairs that move themselves.
OpEds
Congress should commit to US biotechnology leadership
Curiosity-driven, peer-reviewed research is a public good that requires public investment.
Ideas
China’s first viral true crime story may also be its last
Online sleuths around the world thought they solved the mystery of how a student was poisoned. But the Chinese justice system posed a challenge they couldn’t crack.
Ideas
We can get more imaginative about what we imagine
Ruha Benjamin questions why some hard problems are considered too far-fetched to solve while others turn into techie moonshots.
Columns
The government didn’t restrain social media. What about AI?
Columbia University professor Tim Wu says artificial intelligence will increase the dominance of Big Tech.
Ideas
Getting AI ready for the real world takes a terrible human toll
Testing whether chatbots will spew offensive or dangerous content forces you down a rabbit hole you can’t easily forget.
Columns
Is it OK if AI surpasses us?
MIT computer scientist Manolis Kellis is working on artificial intelligence that masters molecular biology and points the way to new medical treatments. And if it takes his own job someday? All the better.
Ideas
Why we click on stuff we know we won’t like
Our research reveals a gap between what goes viral and what people want to go viral.