I expected my summer engineering internship to include things like updating old 3-D models, creating part designs, and learning the ins and outs of how a company works. I didn’t expect it to involve learning to make my colleagues obsolete. It was …Continue reading
How to grow four tons of food a year in a metal box without sunlight
Jaime Silverstein works on a farm every day. Inside a cargo shipping container. In Boston. She is a part of a growing movement of urban farmers intent on using efficient, high-tech hydroponic setups to shorten the distance between city dwellers and their …Continue reading
A Different Story from the Middle East: Entrepreneurs Building an Arab Tech Economy
At the end of March, it was announced that the largest e-commerce company in the Middle East and North Africa, Souq.com, would be acquired by Amazon for nearly $600 million. This was unusual: when Amazon enters a new geographic market, it typically …Continue reading
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. When I spoke to Tasha Hedstrom this winter, she had been sober for more than 61 days. …Continue reading
Walmart’s new robots are loved by staff—and ignored by customers
Walmart may be grabbing headlines for its embrace of cutting-edge technologies, but at the heart of those changes are companies like Bossa Nova. The San Francisco-based robotics firm created the robots now roaming the aisles in 50 Walmart locations around the US. …Continue reading
Five Jobs That Are Set to Grow in 2018
The future of work is going to be determined by artificial intelligence and automation. These technologies will eliminate some jobs, but they will also create new opportunities and greater demand for the jobs that humans still do best. We decided to shine …Continue reading
The Five Most Amazing Things That Were 3-D-Printed This Year
Additive manufacturing has been hyped for years. But in 2017 much of its promise materialized: 3-D printing took a series of big steps out of the realm of niche prototyping and into the world of mass manufacturing. Here’s a look at some …Continue reading
India’s Cashless Economy Gets a Discount
On November 9, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi nullified 86 percent of all the cash in circulation at a stroke. The move has led to chaos, with people waiting in line for hours to exchange their now-worthless 500 and 1,000-rupee notes.
Developing a Tough, Time-Consuming Technology? This Investor Is Interested
There’s often a disconnect between the pace at which professional investors want to recoup their money and the long lead time that technology companies in sectors like biotechnology…
An AI-Fueled Credit Formula Might Help You Get a Loan
Credit ratings have long been the key measure of how likely a U.S. consumer is to repay any loan, from mortgages to credit cards. But the factors that FICO and other companies that create credit scores rely on—things like credit history and …Continue reading