Technology

Elon Musk Should Know Better

This isn’t the first time the billionaire has dabbled in the news business.

Teaching Sobriety With ‘The Bottle’

Before and after Prohibition, temperance organizations turned the whiskey or beer vessel into a personification of American moral failure.

Power Lines Are Burning the West

Human technology is responsible for more loss from fire than any other cause. But reducing fire’s impact will require changes to how people live, not just to the infrastructure that lets them do so.

‘YouTube's Biggest Philanthropist’ Has a History of Homophobic Comments

MrBeast has gone viral for giving away hundreds of thousands of dollars, but he has previously used slurs and made offensive jokes.

Uber’s Self-Driving Car Didn’t Malfunction, It Was Just Bad

There were no software glitches or sensor breakdowns that led to a fatal crash, merely poor object recognition, emergency planning, system design, testing methodology, and human operation.

Elon Musk’s Silly War With the Media

The billionaire’s Twitter tirade was so ill-informed it led to a subtweet from his former head of communications.

The Lil Tay Saga Reaches Its Logical Conclusion

The 9-year-old has built a huge following with profane Instagram posts, but the bravado of “the youngest flexer of the century” masks a sadder tale about fame and exploitation.

Crazy/Genius: Blockchain: The Next Internet, or the Next Beanie Baby?

What exactly is blockchain, how is it being used, and is the hype really worth it?

The New York Stock Exchange Has Its First Woman President. Is She on a Glass Cliff?

It may not be a coincidence that the exchange’s first female boss will begin her tenure during a particularly daunting period for the organization.

The Future of AI Depends on High-School Girls

Women make up one-quarter of computer scientists. But in the field of artificial intelligence those numbers are likely much lower.

A Belgian Legislator Berates and Scoffs at Mark Zuckerberg

In a hearing today, European parliamentarian Guy Verhofstadt said many of the things that Facebook haters have been thinking.

Donald Glover Fans Have Taken Over a Pro-Trump Reddit Page

Normally filled with news and Trump memes, the page is now covered in photos of “the one true Donald’s” face.

Vegan YouTube Stars Are Held to Impossible Standards

Vegans popular on social media often get bullied when they fall short of their fans’ diet demands.

The Problem With Buying Cheap Stuff Online

Sites like Wish.com are taking out the middleman in retail. Will customers like this new dynamic?

When You’re Not Just the Product on Facebook, but the Manager

Facebook wants more of its users to join "meaningful groups," but there can be questionable incentives for the people running them.

Email Is Dangerous

Electronic mail as we know it is drowning in spam, forged phishing mails, and other scams and hacks. It’s going to get worse before it gets better.

Electric Scooter Charger Culture Is Out of Control

“Bird hunting” has become a pastime and a side hustle for teens and young professionals, but for some it’s a cutthroat business.

How a Pioneer of Machine Learning Became One of Its Sharpest Critics

Judea Pearl helped artificial intelligence gain a strong grasp on probability, but laments that it still can't compute cause and effect.

What's Up With All These Viral Illusions?

From The Dress to tennis-ball colors to Yanny vs. Laurel, the internet keeps surfacing these places where our perceptions diverge.

The Instagram Stars of High-School Basketball

“Kids who don’t know how to use social media are definitely at a disadvantage.”