The Future

New chip eliminates the need for specific decoding hardware, boosting gaming systems, 5G networks, and more.

Is there actually anything deserving of the term AI?

The power tower has superior physics but inferior economics.

There’s no telling whether machine-learned common sense is five years away, or 50.

A new tuna robot leads the way to more agile underwater robots and drones.

NASA will use energy from Earth’s gravity to launch the Lucy spacecraft in October of this year.

Think of a combination of immersive virtual reality, an online role-playing game, and the internet.

Meet MIT’s Kate Darling, a robot ethicist who says that we should rethink our relationship with robots.

The non-contact technique could someday be used to lift much heavier objects — maybe even humans.

We are likely to see the first humans walk on Mars this decade.

Virtual reality continues to blur the line between the physical and the digital, and it will change our lives forever.

Understanding “why” may be the key to unlocking an AI’s imagination.

Cars are no longer just a way to get from A to B.

This company uses thousands of mirrors, AI, and machine learning to unlock the power of the sun.

South Korea is piloting a CCTV system it hopes will save lives.

The guilt-free air conditioning, called “cooling paper,” is made from recyclable paper and doesn’t use any electricity.

We eat 50 billion chickens every year. Is there a better way?

Scientists created the mineral lonsdaleite in a lab and tested its strength using sound waves — before it was obliterated.

The fully functional plant will serve to demo TerraPower’s nuclear tech.

If computers can beat us at chess, maybe they could beat us at math, too.

How one startup plans to use “death rays” for good instead of evil.

China has reached a new record for nuclear fusion at 120 million degrees Celsius.

Buildings don’t have to be permanent — modular construction can make them modifiable and relocatable.

Researchers were even able store and read a 767-kilobit full-color short movie file in the fabric.

The revolution is already happening.

Say hello to your new colleague, the Workplace Environment Architect.

A new agricultural revolution could forever change the planet.

These prices are too good to pass up on.

It uses radio waves to pinpoint items, even when they’re hidden from view.

A new method could make holograms for virtual reality, 3D printing, and more. You can even run it can run on a smartphone.