MIT Technology Review Narrated

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Gorillas, militias, and Bitcoin: Why Congo’s most famous national park is betting big on crypto Nov 06, 2024

Show notes

In an attempt to protect its forests and famous wildlife, Virunga has become the first national park to run a Bitcoin mine. But some are wondering what crypto has to do with conservation.

This story was written by Adam Popescu and narrated by Noa (newsoveraudio.com)

How gamification took over the world Oct 30, 2024

Show notes

We live in an undeniably gamified world. We stand up and move around to close colorful rings and earn achievement badges on our smartwatches; we meditate and sleep to recharge our body batteries; we plant virtual trees to be more productive; we chase “likes” and “karma” on social media sites and try to swipe our way toward social connection.

But instead of liberating us from drudgery and maximizing our potential, gamification has turned out to be just another tool for coercion, distraction, and control. Why did we fall for it?

This story was written by Bryan Gardiner and narrated by Noa (newsoveraudio.com)

Technology that lets us “speak” to our dead relatives has arrived. Are we ready? Oct 23, 2024

Show notes

Digital clones of people's dead relatives are far from perfect: they're occasionally impersonal and sometimes downright creepy. But if the technology might help us hang onto the people we love, is it so wrong to try?

This story was written by news editor Charlotte Jee and narrated by Noa.

Inside the quest to engineer climate-saving “super trees” Oct 16, 2024

Show notes

A Silicon Valley startup wants to supercharge trees to soak up more carbon and cool the climate. Is this the great climate solution or a whole lot of hype?

This story was written by Boyce Upholt and narrated by Noa.

What is AI? Oct 09, 2024

Show notes

Artificial intelligence is the hottest technology of our time. But what is it? It sounds like a stupid question, but it’s one that’s never been more urgent.

MIT Technology Review takes a deep dive into the competing answers from titans of industry and helps us understand how we got here—and why you should care, no matter who you are.

This story was written by senior AI editor Will Douglas Heaven and narrated by Noa.

The cost of building the perfect wave Oct 02, 2024

Show notes

The growing business of surf pools wants to bring the ocean experience inland, making surfing more accessible to communities far from the coasts.

These pools can use—and lose—millions upon millions of gallons of water every year. With many planned for areas facing water scarcity, who bears the cost of building the perfect wave?

This story was written by senior features and investigations reporter Eileen Guo and narrated by Noa.

How generative AI could reinvent what it means to play Sep 25, 2024

Show notes

Open-world video games are inhabited by vast crowds of computer-controlled characters. These animated people—called NPCs, for “nonplayer characters”—populate the bars, city streets, or space ports of games. They make virtual worlds feel lived in and full. Often—but not always—you can talk to them.

After a while, however, the repetitive chitchat (or threats) of a passing stranger forces you to bump up against the truth: This is just a game.

It may not always be like that. Just as it’s upending other industries, generative AI is opening the door to entirely new kinds of in-game interactions that are open-ended, creative, and unexpected. Future AI-powered NPCs that don’t rely on a script could make games—and other worlds—deeply immersive.

This story was written by executive editor Niall Firth and narrated by Noa - newsoveraudio.com

The entrepreneur dreaming of a factory of unlimited organs Sep 18, 2024

Show notes

At any given time, the US organ transplant waiting list is about 100,000 people long. Martine Rothblatt sees a day when an unlimited supply of transplantable organs—and 3D-printed ones—will be readily available, saving countless lives.

This story was written by senior biomedicine editor Antonio Regalado and narrated by Noa - newsoveraudio.com

Design thinking was supposed to fix the world. Where did it go wrong? Sep 11, 2024

Show notes

Design thinking suggests that we are all creatives, and we can solve any problem if we empathize hard enough. The methodology was supposed to democratize design, but it may have done the opposite. Where did it go wrong?

This story was written by Rebecca Ackermann and narrated by Noa - newsoveraudio.com

How a tiny Pacific Island became the global capital of cybercrime Sep 04, 2024

Show notes

Tokelau is a group of three isolated atolls strung out across the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand (of which it’s an official territory) and Hawaii. Its population hovers around 1,400 people. Reaching it requires a boat ride from Samoa that can take over 24 hours. To say that Tokelau is remote is an understatement: it was the last place on Earth to be connected to the telephone… in 1997.

Despite its size, Tokelau has become an internet giant. Until recently, its .tk domain had more users than any other country’s: a staggering 25 million. Yet only one website with a .tk domain is actually from Tokelau. Nearly all the others are used by spammers, phishers, and cybercriminals.

This is the story of how Tokelau unwittingly became the global capital of cybercrime—and its fight to fix its reputation.

This story was written by Jacob Judah and narrated by Noa - newsoveraudio.com

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