opinion

New biotech tools could clean up everything from construction to agriculture.

The case for why AI systems are not merely “stochastic parrots.”

Tech leaders may have backed Trump in 2024, but the majority of the community still leans left — and has a big opportunity ahead.

AI can now generate entire worlds from text prompts. What does this mean for how we think, create, and connect?

From bombed reactors to inflation and blackouts, a cascade of crises is testing the Islamic Republic’s resilience like never before.

The case for robotaxis on the water.

An introduction to “The Engine of Progress” from Jason Crawford, founder of the Roots of Progress Institute.

Preindustrial life wasn’t simple or serene — it was filthy, violent, and short. The Industrial Revolution was imperfect, but it was progress.

The case that a bipartisan movement structured around progress and reform may be reaching critical mass.

Government-spec’d glory projects produce tech demos. Enduring progress demands a better way forward.

Common law has long balanced innovation and accountability. Can it do the same for AI?

Before we can build the future, we have to imagine it.

Real progress demands rules built for uncertainty — not for the few innovations dominating today’s tech landscape.

Rivals may try to outnumber us with fleets of cheap vessels. Our path is to out-innovate them.

It’s time to write the human genome, argues microbiologist Andrew Hessel.

From Hitler to Hamas, Western powers have repeatedly dismissed open threats as bluffs — with catastrophic results.

Bold megaprojects could turn dry depressions into thriving new hubs of life.

“Think of it like a transcontinental railroad — not the fastest way to move a lot of mass, but certainly the most efficient,” Jared Isaacman said about nuclear electric propulsion.

“The rise of the internet brought about similar fears, yet it ultimately made learning richer and more accessible.”

Trump may make America great again — just not in the way he had intended.

“The evolution of digital media makes stricter regulation of online behavior not only feasible but inevitable,” writes media ecologist Andrey Mir.

We will believe in AGI when it calls on Facetime.

Elitism has come under fire since the recent wave of populist politics. But when we don’t listen to experts, we end up listening to politicians’ lies, says Richard Dawkins.

Renowned linguist and public intellectual MIT Professor Noam Chomsky offers his take on the Trump administration and its troubles with Russia.