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Facebook is at the center of some of the most important questions in American life: How can we distinguish truth from fiction online? How can society develop fairly in an era of artificial intelligence? Can technology bring us together, or will it drive us apart? Chris Cox, chief product officer at Facebook, will discuss all these questions and more with Nicholas Thompson,...
Facebook holds more power globally than do few other private or public-sector entities. So, hearing from one of its top execs often sheds light on what to expect. The company’s chief product officer, Chris Cox, joins The Atlantic CEO Nicholas Thompson to discuss a wide range of issues regarding the ever-evolving creative economy. What’s the role of virtual reality in the y...
Technology used to be a lot more accessible, open, and ethical. It was driven by optimistic tinkerers rather than big companies. That changed. The entire industry and ecosystem is now ruled by a handful of companies rather than upstarts. American tech giants are now among the most powerful institutions in the world, rivaling governments in their power over media, culture,...
The public optimism that came with the launch of social media a decade ago has settled into a wariness that we might instead face a long, grueling daily fight for truth and facts in the face of unrelenting, automated disinformation online. As the 2020 elections gear up, how should our country face the threat from Twitter bots and Facebook trolls? What responsibility should...
Jennifer Doudna and her Berkeley lab collaborators are not alone in their quest to understand nature. As scientists with profound curiosity, leaders of labs across the globe have found themselves in an intense race to determine how to manipulate our genetic makeup, designing new technologies that can alter the course of disease or even design a human child. But with the de...
The lane for healthcare is widening. Well-capitalized retail and technology companies are pushing services out of the clinic and into big-box stores, corner shops, and private homes. While they are out purchasing computers and clothing, shoppers can also schedule their check-ups, dental care, mental health counseling, and X-rays. Meanwhile, tech companies are reaching clie...
A discussion with Comcast Corporation Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts and NBC Olympic primetime host Bob Costas. The rapid advances in technology are changing how we interact with events that resonate across our culture. Not that long ago, we all watched the same thing at the same time. Now we watch not just on our TVs but on our phones and tablets or through apps. Or we co...
Trust is fundamental to almost every action, relationship, and transaction in society, but we live in an era when technology is rapidly changing who and how we trust. The trust we used to place in traditional institutions such as governments, banks, media, and charities has hit an all-time low, and trust now flows horizontally through systems and networks that are as likel...
Marty Baron has a larger-than-life reputation among journalists, who revere him one of the best editors in a generation. Multiple Pulitzer Prizes — and Oscar-winning narratives — only punctuate his passion for excellence in reporting. Since joining The Washington Post as executive editor in 2013, Baron has pursued the kind of investigative journalism for which the paper is...
The threads that connect humans to their natural environments have frayed, and some have completely severed. In an attempt to mend those we still can, designers are forging meaningful connections with nature to make reparations. Their collaborative processes — working with nature and in teams across multiple disciplines — are optimistic, but urgent. In this session, learn...
Far too many students in the United States and around the world face challenges when seeking a quality education; this untapped potential is a waste of societal and economic resources. In this session, education and civil society leaders will talk about their efforts to engage underserved and refugee youth, and their successes and failures in helping those youth overcome b...
As virtual and augmented reality technologies mature, the line between the physical world and a simulated world begins to blur. By way of amusing features like face filters and animated avatars, many users are embracing augmented realities on a regular basis, sometimes without even realizing it. Join a panel of technologists to discover how these platforms and products are...
Within our lifetimes, AI will, by design, begin to behave unpredictably, thinking and acting in ways which defy human logic. Big tech companies may be inadvertently building and enabling vast arrays of intelligent systems that don't share our motivations, desires, or hopes for the future of humanity. Is it too late to change course and realize a human-centered future for a...
For tens of thousands of years, humans have created and employed new technologies in order to gain advantage, to survive, and to thrive in the face of adversity. Today, streamlined research and development processes and advanced computing accelerate everything we do — including our next scientific and technological discoveries. How will humankind’s latest cutting-edge tech...
Robots cannot substitute for those we have lost, but they are increasingly finding their way into care settings and the homes of elderly people struggling with isolation and loneliness. Meet Pepper, described as “the world’s first social humanoid robot, able to recognize faces and basic human emotions… optimized for human interaction.” Robots that respond conversationally,...
In an age of cyber warfare, where weapons are simply Internet-connected devices, are we prepared to face the evolving threat posed by state and non-state actors who would do us harm? As a recent attack in Ukraine has shown, hackers can and will cripple critical infrastructure by accessing control systems inside utilities. And we’ve seen time and again what happens when int...
In the face of the pandemic, technology became an important part of how we accessed care almost overnight. Suddenly, physician video consults became standard practice, tests and devices were routinely used to diagnose and monitor disease at home, and new software was connecting people with the information they needed from the convenience of their phones or tablets. This ch...
Once the realm of science fiction, smart machines are rapidly becoming part of our world—and these technologies offer amazing potential to improve the way we live. Imagine intelligent, autonomous vehicles that reduce crashes and alleviate congestion in crowded cities. Imagine robots that can help your aged grandma move around safely or instructors that can assist special-n...
What is trust? “A firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.” (We googled it). How much, not to mention who, we should trust is more complex now, given the technological tools we have at our disposal and the crafty creatives who might push the world’s next great product, or the next fake story, or — far worse — the hackers who can...
In the third year of a global pandemic, many American workers have a new relationship with their work. Whether they are navigating new working models, striving for better work-life balance, or feeling anxious about their financial resiliency amid rising inflation and economic uncertainty — work looks and feels different than it did in 2020. Employers, meanwhile, face a num...