Technology

The hidden climate cost of everything around us

January 4, 2024
This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here. The world is building and making things as never before, from roads and hospitals to vehicles and furniture. That’s good news for people who benefit from new goods and infrastructure, but it’s…

Quantum computing is taking on its biggest challenge: noise

January 4, 2024
In the past 20 years, hundreds of companies, including giants like Google, Microsoft, and IBM, have staked a claim in the rush to establish quantum computing. Investors have put in well over $5 billion so far. All this effort has just one purpose: creating the world’s next big thing.  Quantum computers use the counterintuitive rules…

The online art catalogue that chronicles a stolen African heritage

January 4, 2024
When British forces raided the African kingdom of Benin in the late 19th century, they took with them thousands of sculptures dating back centuries. Sold to private collectors and museums in the Global North, the artifacts, known as the Benin Bronzes, included ceremonial swords, ritualistic statues, and musical instruments that belonged to the Edo people.…

Autonomous delivery startup Nuro taps simulation company Foretellix to cut R&D costs

January 4, 2024

Autonomous delivery startup Nuro has struck a deal with safety-focused software company Foretellix to help with virtual testing of its automated driving system, in a bid to cut R&D costs while still pushing the technology forward. The partnership, which the companies are set to announce later Thursday, comes in the wake of a tumultuous stretch […]

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What’s next for AI in 2024

January 4, 2024
This time last year we did something reckless. In an industry where nothing stands still, we had a go at predicting the future.  How did we do? Our four big bets for 2023 were that the next big thing in chatbots would be multimodal (check: the most powerful large language models out there, OpenAI’s GPT-4…

Urbanista integrates Powerfoyle tech with solar-powered headphones

January 3, 2024

The subject of solar-powered tech rouses a bit of deserved skepticism among consumers. At the end of the day, I suspect most folks would love more sustainable gadgets they never have to charge, but on the whole, the actual technology rarely — if ever — lives up to expectation. Next week at CES, Exeger is […]

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The Download: greener cement, and the biggest tech stories of 2023

January 3, 2024
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. How electricity could help tackle a surprising climate villain Cement hides in plain sight—it’s used to build everything from roads and buildings to dams and basement floors. But it’s also a climate threat.…

How electricity could help tackle a surprising climate villain

January 3, 2024
Cement hides in plain sight—it’s used to build everything from roads and buildings to dams and basement floors. But there’s a climate threat lurking in those ubiquitous gray slabs. Cement production accounts for more than 7% of global carbon dioxide emissions—more than sectors like aviation, shipping, or landfills. Humans have been making cement, in one…

Why Puma is sticking to its web3 bets as crypto shakes off a long-held winter

January 2, 2024

While some brands moved away from web3 in 2023 during a long crypto winter, Puma stayed the course and its head of emerging technology Ivan Dashkov told TechCrunch+ it has no intentions of leaving. After two years working with web3, Puma’s tech revenues remain modest, but the sportswear manufacturer intends to be ready for a more […]

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