It’s Time For a New Kind of Power Fantasy Games can–and must–offer different definitions of fantasy, including fantasies of safety and peace.

    Does Siri Believe in God? A theological guide to chatbots and the world’s major religions.

    The Boundaries of Artificial Emotional Intelligence If our virtual assistants and emotional laborers are all turning out to be soothing, female-voiced AI, will it close certain gaps for human women? Or will it ratify them?

    The Most Subversive Way to Travel Perhaps the humble bicycle, a transportation mode that puts people in contact with one another and gives them back that control they seem to crave, offers a unique opportunity to remake those realities for the better.

    Beats: Disability “Disable” is an active verb, and disability describes the social and environmental barriers that prevent access just as much as an individual body’s physical reality.

    The Roots of an Epidemic From apartheid labor policies to everyday sexism, socio-political issues influence the spread of TB disease and the effectiveness of health responses. To tackle the epidemic, we need systemic changes.

    A vast stack of containers on a ship

    Postcards From a Supply Chain

    A series that traces consumer goods back through the global shipping system to their source.
    Dan Williams
    Jan 21, 2015

    The Human Machine

    A series about the increasingly blurred lines between us and our machines.
    Ian Steadman
    Aug 23, 2017

    Isla del Encanto

    Puerto Ricans have always found opportunity in the limits placed upon them. Exploring the island’s agricultural future–from community gardens to research hubs, bakers to growers to distillers.
    Alicia Kennedy
    Apr 16, 2019

    Beats: Space

    Space is where we project our dreams–and our nightmares–of the future.

    Beats: Food

    Food structures our day, and food systems shape our world

    Beats: Disability

    “Disable” is an active verb, and disability describes the social and environmental barriers that prevent access just as much as an individual body’s physical reality.

    Beats: Health

    Access to health care is as much a matter of public policy as it is the size of a person’s pocketbook; within a doctor’s office, many factors affect the quality of treatment.

    AI’s Seismic Shift From Elephants To Ants

    How attempts to mimic the behavior of insects transformed artificial intelligence in the 1990s.
    Richard Baguley
    Oct 21, 2015 4 min read

    Games as a Path to Self-Care

    Neuroscientific research has found that playing games can offer players therapeutic value.
    Andrea Ayres
    Nov 16, 2016 5 min read

    Piano Strings Tickled with Electromagnets, Not Hammers

    Creating a new tool for composers and performers.
    Alice Bell
    Jan 14, 2015 2 min read