February 7, 2025

These documents are influencing the DOGE-sphere’s agenda

Reports from the US Government Accountability Office on improper federal payments in recent years are circulating on X and elsewhere online, and they seem to be a big influence on Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency and its supporters as the group pursues cost-cutting measures across the federal government.  The payment reports have been…

Technology

The Download: the minerals powering our economy, and Chinese companies’ identity crisis

May 29, 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. Quartz, cobalt, and the waste we leave behind It is easy to convince ourselves that we now live in a dematerialized ethereal world, ruled by digital startups, artificial intelligence, and financial services. Yet…

Ledger starts shipping its high-end hardware crypto wallet

May 28, 2024

Ledger, a French startup mostly known for its secure crypto hardware wallets, has started shipping new wallets nearly 18 months after announcing the latest Ledger Stax devices. The updated wallet features an E-Ink display and has been designed in partnership with Tony Fadell, one of the main designers behind the iPod. E-Ink technology is generally […]

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The quest to type Chinese on a QWERTY keyboard created autocomplete

May 27, 2024
This is an excerpt from The Chinese Computer: A Global History of the Information Age by Thomas S. Mullaney, published on May 28 by The MIT Press. It has been lightly edited. ymiw2 klt4 pwyy1 wdy6 o1 dfb2 wdv2 fypw3 uet5 dm2 dlu1 … A young Chinese man sat down at his QWERTY keyboard and…

5 Common AI Buzzwords All PR Pros Need to Know

May 24, 2024
With so many AI buzzwords flying around, it can be difficult for communicators to understand what’s what in the field of artificial intelligence. Here’s a glossary of the most common AI buzzwords you should know to have a better grasp of this groundbreaking technology.

The Download: head transplants, and filtering sounds with AI

May 24, 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. That viral video showing a head transplant is a fake. But it might be real someday.  An animated video posted this week has a voice-over that sounds like a late-night TV ad, but…

Splashy breakthroughs are exciting, but people with spinal cord injuries need more

May 24, 2024
This article first appeared in The Checkup, MIT Technology Review’s weekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, and read articles like this first, sign up here.  This week, I wrote about an external stimulator that delivers electrical pulses to the spine to help improve hand and arm function in people who are paralyzed. This…