Technology & Innovation — July 7, 2010

Information Technology in 2050 (SMITHSONIAN)

Director of the Information Policy Research Center, National University of Singapore

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Will we become a couch-potato society of information consumers, or will we be empowered, motivated and active?

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Our Universe has more galaxies than Carl Sagan ever imagined

Forget billions and billions. When it comes to the number of galaxies in the Universe, both theorists’ and observers’ estimates are too low.

A red number 5 with orange flames extending from the left on a dark background, symbolizing the fiery drive to improve company culture.

Business

5 ways to rapidly improve your company culture

Don’t become one of those organizations that slouches toward positive behavioral change — here’s how to move fast.

The letters "AI" appear with a glitch effect in multicolored pixels against a black background.

The Present

AI skeptic Gary Marcus on AI’s moral and technical shortcomings

The cognitive scientist argues the current AI environment is failing us as consumers and a society. But it’s not too late to change course.

An abstract illustration features a bell curve with red dots and a percentage labeled 49%. The background includes a monochrome portion of a face with wide-open eyes peeking below the curve.

Thinking

Everyday Philosophy: Bad at probability? That might be a blessing.

How black and white is your thinking?

A metal ladder of misinference stretches into a round sky view, its rungs disappearing among the clouds against a dark backdrop.

The Learning Curve

How to disrupt misinformation with the “ladder of misinference”

Alex Edmans, professor of finance at the London Business School, warns us to be mindful of the incentives surrounding misinformation — including our desire to believe it.

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