Technology & Innovation — December 1, 2010

Why Everyone Hates Comcast

Comcast has become the quintessential broadband bully—an image that is part outside perception, part self-fulfilling prophecy. Here is a look at Comcast’s missteps along the way.

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Killing net neutrality and neutering the FCC: Comcast went to court to fight the FCC order even though it had already implemented much of it before the commission had issued its demands—and won. The court ruling effectively crippled the FCC by restricting its authority over the Internet, and efforts to implement strong net neutrality protection in the U.S. haven’t been successful since. Spying on its customers: It may have been just one of those ideas that would never see the light of day, but Comcast’s plans to use cameras to figure out who was watching TV at any given time didn’t exactly help the company’s image.

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Industrial landscape featuring large smokestacks and various structures of an oil refinery, some incorporating cutting-edge carbon removal technology, set under a cloudy sky.

The Present

Not all forms of carbon removal are created equal

The carbon market and offsetting system have created “carbon cowboys” and perpetuated forms of neo-colonialism and other inequities.

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.

A digital illustration of a human brain with blue veins and a glowing light at the top, set against a black background.

The Future

How Neuralink’s chief competitor is tapping into the brain without surgery

“Neurotech is not just about the brain,” says Synchron CTO Riki Banerjee, explaining how their tech can help with paralysis, brain diseases, and beyond.

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?

Image of Earth set against a black background with the text "A Volatile World" in large white letters.

Why does it feel like the world is falling apart?

“We’ve engineered a volatile world where Starbucks is completely unchanging from year to year, but democracies are collapsing and rivers are drying up.”

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11 min

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with

Brian Klaas

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