The World as You'll Know It
Newsletter / Issue No. 22
How to Restart a Nuclear Power Plant
As electricity demand in the U.S. skyrockets, three recently closed nuclear power plants are in various phases of being restarted in an effort to create clean, reliable energy as fast as possible. But the U.S. has never done this before and safety concerns loom large. Will the efforts pay off?
Plus
CRISPR may have solved the problem of tasteless tomatoes, prosthetics might soon allow users to experience sensations of touch and an epidemic caused by an airborne fungus is brewing in the southwest.
Technology / Podcast
A Podcast Series About What It Will Take to Replace Fossil Fuels with Clean Energy
Solar energy at an unknown scale. Reimagined nuclear power. Green steel. These are just some of the technologies needed for a carbon-free future. Can they deliver?
Artificial Intelligence / Feature
One Company's Decision to Put AI Into the Ground
What does it mean to adopt AI? For John Deere it meant hundreds of millions of dollars, a new corporate culture and forever changing the relationship between a farmer and the land.
By Gideon Lewis-Kraus
Artificial Intelligence / Timeline
Is AI Stuck? History Shows That It Wouldn't Be the First Time.
By Konstantin Kakaes
Artificial Intelligence / Timeline
Is AI Stuck? History Shows That It Wouldn't Be the First Time.
By Konstantin Kakaes
Robotics / Feature
Small, Flexible and Sometimes Weird. The Next Generation of Robots is Here.
By Clive Thompson
Robotics / Feature
Small, Flexible and Sometimes Weird. The Next Generation of Robots is Here.
By Clive Thompson
Robotics / Timeline
13 Milestones in the History of Robots
People have been making machines that replicate human abilities for centuries. These are the breakthroughs that got robots to where they are today. Photo: NMAH
By Clive Thompson
Robotics / Feature
Robots' final frontier? Taking care of us.
To understand how far robots are from replacing humans, just look at the everyday task of using a fork.
By Clive Thompson