The Commerce Department signed letters of intent for up to $389 million in semiconductor R&D funding aimed at power electronics for the grid, data centers and fusion energy - and will take a minority equity stake in every recipient.
A newsletter signup may seem far removed from the old video store. But a Supreme Court case argued on Wednesday, October 14, asks whether that signup can establish the relationship that makes a person's video-viewing history protected by federal law. The dispute is about who counts as a consumer, and how a law written for videotapes operates on websites that mix text, video and advertising.
A U.S. patent does not give an inventor the right to make anything. It gives the right to stop others. Here is what patents cover, how long they last and how they are granted.
A proposed reciprocity rule would reshape where electronics for the U.S. market can be tested. The policy is about national security, but also about who gets to certify trust.
A new Justice Department terminology directive turns an AI branding choice into a legal question about precision, evidence and government power.
European consumer authorities are investigating nine game companies over virtual currencies, real-money prices and purchase rights. The question is whether players can see what they are spending before they buy.
Europe's booking rules gave hotels pricing freedom. A new Commission update shows why rankings, discounts and data also matter.
OpenAI and Anthropic want a route to train on Australian creative work. Canberra has ruled out a broad copyright exception, leaving consent, licensing and compensation at the center of the debate.
Seven new laws put electricity, water and land-use costs in the public record. The harder test is whether communities can act on what they learn.
A September 15 Senate vote has turned crypto market structure into a fight over bank deposits, financial stability and who gets to regulate digital money.
EOS-05 is designed to watch the same region from geosynchronous orbit. That makes the mission about disaster response, state capacity and who controls the view from above.
Amazon’s small-team model can drive speed and ownership. Its harder question is whether technical access can substitute for trust between teams.
AI’s physical infrastructure is arriving in rural communities faster than the systems meant to monitor its demands on water, power, and public trust.
Sangwoo Cho examines how infinite scroll shifts responsibility between users and the platforms designed to keep them watching.
Forty years after a cloud of carbon dioxide suffocated communities around Cameroon’s Lake Nyos, the disaster remains a lesson in invisible risk, scientific humility, and who receives protection.
The August 12 total solar eclipse will cross the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland and Spain. Here is where to see it and how to watch safely.
Solarpunk imagines a hopeful ecological future, but realizing it would require changes far beyond green architecture and individual consumption.
The Genesis Mission could accelerate medicine, energy, and discovery. Its success will depend on privacy, transparency, independent validation, and who gets access.
We’ve come far as a country, from role-playing Hollywood-level combat scenarios in Atropia to embedding artificial intelligence in virtual warfare simulations. The U.S. military leaves no stone unturned in preparing its soldiers for the uncertainties of war. But if “closing the loop” is what makes the system better, who remains outside to evaluate it? Shield AI’s recent acquisition of Aechelon Technology paints a picture of a future where, as Shield AI CEO Gary Steele remarked in a statement,...
Everything you see can now be yours with the click of a button: every new shirt scrolled past on Instagram, every new food trend on TikTok. Social media and online shopping have built an algorithm of wanting, and the fastest possible way to satisfy it. Online shopping platforms push products toward consumers with little acknowledgment of the environmental cost on either side of the transaction. As with most technological advances, the focus stays on human convenience, not on what those...
If you steal money from a homeless man’s basket, only to later discover he is the hiring manager for the company you’re interviewing with, you probably won’t get the job. And, of course, it’s not a very nice thing to do. But in a game where you can step outside your own body while still shaping the world around you, things are different. You probably still won't get the job, but you gain the unique ability to see how that choice affects the way people perceive you. You can witness how it...
In the summer of 1969, the Earth felt like a very small place. While the world below was tangled in political unrest and social change, three men were sitting on top of a controlled explosion, waiting to be hurled into the dark. When the Apollo 11 mission successfully touched down on the lunar surface, it did more than win a race. It proved that the limits of human achievement are only as small as our imagination and our willingness to take massive risks. A Decade of Desperation and Discovery...
Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant concept. It is woven into how we search, how we study, how we work, and increasingly, how we feel. And as AI grows more capable and more present in our everyday lives, one question becomes impossible to ignore: is it behaving responsibly? The Basics AI ethics is a set of moral principles designed to guide the development and use of artificial intelligence toward outcomes that are fair, safe, and beneficial. What was once a purely human concern,...
The Attention Problem Technology is everywhere. It shapes how students learn, communicate, and spend their time. And there is growing evidence that the way this generation uses it is quietly working against them. The issue starts with attention. Students are spending hours cycling through short videos and social media feeds, content designed to deliver constant stimulation. Against that baseline, sitting with a chapter, working through a problem, and staying engaged in class feels slow and...
A parent negotiates screen time with their child. Yet another school has enforced a campus-wide phone ban. An office manager scheduled the fourth “focus hour” of the month. None of them created the system that keeps demanding their time, but they all pay a price for it. The attention economy is a marketplace where platforms compete to capture and retain human focus. When that becomes the top priority, the costs of distraction spill outward onto families, schools, and workplaces. “Free”...
If you have been on the internet or social media in the past year, I’m sure you have noticed an increase in AI-created content. What started as simply sharing AI’s answers to users’ curious questions has now become something much bigger. I first became aware of AI when my friends would ask AI chatbots about their deepest questions about life, the universe, and scientific theories. They found the answers interesting, and using chatbots for a few minutes a week wasn’t hurting anyone. However,...
Just a few years ago, one of the earliest viral AI-generated videos seemed like a joke. It showed actor Will Smith eating a bowl of spaghetti. The clip was more funny or creepy than convincing. His face was warped, his body moved strangely, and the spaghetti glitched in his hands. The whole thing had an uncanny, rubbery feel. People shared it because it was ridiculous, not because they believed it was real. Fast forward to today, and the joke’s on us. Current technology makes AI-generated...
This week in New Delhi, artificial intelligence is being discussed in rooms filled with executives, diplomats, and policymakers. But what is unfolding is not just a technology summit. It is a geopolitical alignment moment. The India AI Impact Summit, running February 16 to 20, has drawn global tech leaders at the same time that Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva begins a state visit to India on February 18. That overlap signals something important. Artificial intelligence is no...
No one's favorite character is the guy who never makes a mistake. Take Metro Man from Megamind, he seems like the perfect superhero destined to save the day. Yet we find ourselves rooting for Megamind instead, the supposed villain whose origin story reveals the injustice of a baby crash-landing in a prison and growing up behind bars. When Metro Man later confesses he's been wrestling with an existential crisis about his purpose, we finally see past his flawless exterior. Flaws, not...
A parent negotiates screen time with their child. Yet another school has enforced a campus-wide phone ban. An office manager scheduled the fourth “focus hour” of the month. None of them created the system that keeps demanding their time, but they all pay a price for it. The attention economy is a marketplace where platforms compete to capture and retain human focus. When that becomes the top priority, the costs of distraction spill outward onto families, schools, and workplaces. “Free”...
If you steal money from a homeless man’s basket, to later discover he is the hiring manager for the company you’re interviewing with, you probably won’t get the job, and, of course, it’s not a very nice thing to do. But in a game, where you can step outside your own body while still shaping the world around you, things are different. You probably still won't get the job, but you gain the unique ability to see how that choice affects the way people perceive you, how it changes your future,...