The People Who Read Your Airline Tweets
“There are a lot of whiners, but the good thing is we help the whiners, too.”
Does Twitter's New Hate Policy Cover Trump's North Korea Tweet?
The company announced new rules to protect against hateful conduct and violent threats in December—but the policy contains an intentional loophole.
Net Neutrality Was Never Enough
The internet is as much the enemy as it is the hero of contemporary life.
‘The Basic Grossness of Humans’
Content moderators review the the dark side of the internet. They don’t escape unscathed.
Threading a City With Gunfire Sensors Might Not Make It Any Safer
Amid record-breaking gun violence, Chicago’s police are expanding the use of an innovative technology—with little evidence that it helps.
The Most 2017 Story of 2017
It’s a Christmas tale for our time: Cyber nerds using high-tech software to buy a slew of baby-monkey robots and holding them ransom for thousands of dollars.
Will Ukraine Be Hit by Yet Another Holiday Power-Grid Hack?
The country has been attacked the past two years in December. A new strike could have major implications for cybersecurity in the U.S.
A New Kind of Soft Battery, Inspired by the Electric Eel
The animals inspired the design of the very first battery. Two centuries later, they're at it again.
The Environmental Cost of Internet Porn
So many people watch porn online that the industry’s carbon footprint might be worse now that it was in the days of DVDs and magazines.
A Viral Short Story for the #MeToo Moment
The depiction of uncomfortable romance in "Cat Person" seems to resonate with countless women.
The App That Reminds You You’re Going to Die
It helped me find inner peace.
How Russia Hacked America—And Why It Will Happen Again
Russia’s cyber warfare success revealed America’s weakness.
A Birth Certificate Is a Person’s First Possession
Around the world, the document establishes legal, social, and economic legitimacy. But it also makes compromises. An Object Lesson.
The Winter Getaway That Turned the Software World Upside Down
How a group of programming rebels started a global movement
Robots Will Transform Fast Food
That might not be a bad thing.
Google Taught an AI That Sorts Cat Photos to Analyze DNA
And it’s very good at it.
A Unified Theory of Meme Death
Why do some memes last longer than others? Are they just funnier? Better?
This Is Fine
First responders saw LA’s latest fire as routine, but people watching on the internet saw a glimpse of the apocalypse.
Future Historians Probably Won't Understand Our Internet, and That's Okay
Archivists are working to document our chaotic, opaque, algorithmically complex world—and in many cases, they simply can’t.
Has the Google of South Korea Found a Way to Save Struggling News Outlets?
The nation’s dominant search engine has a model for benefiting local publications—but many are worried about its implications.