Category: Technology

In 2023, emotional AI—technology that can sense and interact with human emotions—will become one of the dominant applications of machine learning. For instance, Hume AI, founded by Alan Cowen, a former Google researcher, is developing tools to measure emotions from verbal, facial, and vocal expressions. Swedish company Smart Eyes recently acquired Affectiva, the MIT Media […]

Blockbusters are back, baby! Between the early returns on Avatar: The Way of Water and the $1.5 billion that Top Gun: Maverick brought in globally, everything old is new again (again) in Hollywood. That could be a very good thing for studios in the coming year, which promises some very-long-awaited sequels, hot Willy Wonka, superheroes galore, and several minutes […]

mRNA is one of the first molecules of life. While identified six decades ago as the carrier of the blueprint for proteins in living cells, its pharmaceutical potential was long underestimated. mRNA appeared unpromising—too unstable, too weak in potency, and too inflammatory.  The successful development of the first mRNA vaccines against Covid-19 in 2020 was […]

The Covid-19 pandemic’s lockdown and lingering effects, plus the sudden drop in price of powerful PC graphics cards this year, led to an unexpected renaissance in computer gaming.  The argument against PC gaming often boils down to: It’s cheaper and easier to deal with a video game console than to set up a powerful gaming rig. But many […]

In August,  the internet infrastructure company Cloudflare was one of hundreds of targets in a massive criminal phishing spree that succeeded in breaching numerous tech companies. While some Cloudflare employees were tricked by the phishing messages, the attackers couldn’t burrow deeper into the company’s systems. That’s because, as part of Cloudflare’s security controls, every employee […]

The idea is to will yourself to do something, but something you have no emotional investment in. This builds up a fortitude of the will that you can then apply to things you are emotionally invested in. Out With the Old This is the time of year when we focus on new beginnings (natch), but […]

In Blue Twelve Studios’ postapocalypse, humans are gone and cats are left to roam the neon-lit ruins. Stray, a puzzle platformer where players control an orange tabby traversing a cyberpunk world, is straightforward in its approach: You are a lost cat. You can meow and scratch and be endlessly annoying, all while wearing a cute little backpack. Not […]

We are being pitched futures all the time. Every advertisement, every political campaign, every quarterly budget is a promise or a threat about what tomorrow could look like. And it can feel, sometimes, like those futures are happening, whether we like it or not—that we’re simply along for the ride. But the future hasn’t happened yet. […]

You can’t make sure you’ll never have an accident at home, on the road, in the office, or in the great outdoors. All you can do is make sure you’re prepared. Many commercial medical kits are bulky, overpriced, and lack a lot of useful gear. Build your own to take with you camping and hiking, […]

Luxurious over-the-ear headphones are plush and comfortable, and they sound great. But for most everyday activities—working out, traveling, and wandering around my house pretending to put things away—I much prefer a pair of convenient, durable, wireless workout buds. Since I started testing them, their sound and comfort have improved dramatically. I trail run, hike, work […]