Artificial intelligence has given us algorithms capable of recognizing faces, diagnosing disease, and of course, crushing computer games. But even the smartest algorithms can sometimes behave in unexpected and unwanted ways, for example picking up gender bias from the text or images they are fed.A new framework for building AI programs suggests a way to…
During a recent visit to Alphabet’s X lab, I drained my coffee and left the compostable cup on a tray marked “Cans & Bottles.” The transgression was soon mended. Twenty minutes later, a wheeled, one-armed, chest-high robot whirred along and inspected the cup with the 3D cameras inside its flattened head. Its arm reached out…
If you’ve ever tried your hand at shot put, you know it’s tougher than it looks. The metal ball, called a shot, is deceptively heavy for its size. At 16 pounds, it’s the weight of a bowling ball crammed into a package about the size of a softball. To throw it effectively you have to…
Greetings, welcome to another edition of The Monitor, WIRED’s culture news roundup. Today we have news from many corners of the galaxy — from Netflix, to the Grammys, to the DC Extended Universe. Time to dive in.Lizzo, Billie Eilish, and Lil Nas X Top the Grammy NominationsThe Recording Academy announced the nominees for this year’s…
The Russian state-sponsored hackers known as Sandworm have launched some of the most aggressive and disruptive cyberattacks in history: intrusions that planted malware inside US electric utilities in 2014, operations that triggered blackouts in Ukraine—not once, but twice—and ultimately NotPetya, the most costly cyberattack ever. But according to Google, several of Sandworm’s quieter operations have…
For those on the ramparts of the world’s sole superpower, the digital winds are blowing an icy chill through the triumphant glow of the post-Cold War.People in Washington play lots of games, but none for higher stakes than The Day After. They played a version of it in the depths of the Cold War, hoping…
Without the inspiration and innovation of two disabled individuals, the digital world likely wouldn’t be what it is today. Yet that same world so summarily excludes disabled individuals today that we’re eliminating the very people we will need to solve the web’s future problems.Since the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990, our nation…
Smartphones have become necessities in the past decade, but visually, they haven’t changed much. The 2007 iPhone is, well, just as much a rectangular slab as the new iPhone 11 Pro. But their shapes have evolved. Foldable phones like the Samsung Galaxy Fold are all the rage in 2019. LG isn’t prepared to make a…
When the 2019-2020 Formula E season kicks off in the Saudi city of Diriyah this weekend, the all-electric racing series will be missing a hallmark of the sport’s early years: the car swap. In its first four seasons, the batteries powering cars couldn’t last the full 45-minute race. So drivers stopped in the pits halfway…
Imagine maneuvering your car through a dark tunnel that bulges unexpectedly in places and then turns sharply through a maze-like passage. The perilous journey feels safer with a light and camera showing the way ahead. It’s even better if digital lines lay out a track, assuring you stay in your lane.In a rudimentary way, that…
