Suckup software: How sycophancy threatens the future of AI
The biggest problem with AI right now might not be it defying humans but bending its answers to make us happy.
This global prize competition is launching small moonshots to save the planet
Prince William’s “Earthshot” strategy hopes to hedge humanity’s bet and tackle multiple environmental crises.
Latest Videos
This group is investing in Muslim communities to shift harmful perceptions
In partnership with Skoll Foundation
“We belong here. We always have.” Meet the people behind Pillars, the program investing in the lives and dreams of American Muslims.
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Hard Reset
What is Generative AI? It’s going to alter everything about how we use the internet
Artificial intelligence is bigger than image prompts and idea generation. Much bigger. This veteran technologist says Generative AI will bring about “The New Internet.”
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Hard Reset Podcast
Hard Reset Podcast: Sidewalks | Episode #9
Much of U.S. infrastructure is designed with cars in mind, not pedestrians. Here’s how we can fix that.
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Hard Reset
Starlink’s newest competitor is using next-gen satellites to create internet for everyone
Four billion people are not connected to the internet. This company wants to change that, using satellites in geostationary orbit.
Debunking the myth of Gen Z “voter apathy” ahead of the 2024 election
In partnership with Skoll Foundation
Gen Z is stereotyped as politically apathetic. These youth action groups are proving that couldn’t be further from the truth.
MasterClass co-founder explains the secret to standing out in any industry
In partnership with Million Stories
How you position your business is as important as the idea itself. MasterClass co-founder Aaron Rasmussen reveals why.
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Hard Reset Podcast
Hard Reset Podcast: Cars | Episode #8
You’re worried about autonomous cars. We want to answer your questions.
How I reinvented the future of the art market
In partnership with Million Stories
This first-time entrepreneur didn’t find a gap in the art market — he reinvented it. Here’s how he made it happen.
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Future of Cities
These cities are working alongside nature to become flood-proof
Barriers, floodgates, aqueducts, empty wells — how these cities are adapting to floods and droughts.
The 4 things more important than experience in business
In partnership with Million Stories
You don’t need to know everything before you start your business. This drop-out turned CEO is proof.
African food is rising in popularity. Here are the chefs, farmers, and businesses making that happen
In partnership with Skoll Foundation
Colonization has pushed African cuisine into the shadows. These chefs, farmers, and business owners are on a mission to put it in the spotlight.
The Science of Dying
Explore the journey from life to death and beyond. Near-death experiences, death doulas, digital immortality, and more – join us for a thoughtful exploration of one life’s most intriguing and inevitable phenomena with stories from the frontlines of death.
Are near-death experiences just psychedelic trips?
One possible explanation of near death experiences is that our brains are flooded with a hallucinogenic, DMT.
Study finds CPR patients may frequently have near-death experiences
In a study of CPR patients across the US and UK, researchers found new evidence about near-death experiences.
Psychedelics are helping dying patients overcome their existential distress
End of life patients face existential and spiritual challenges other patients do not. Psychedelics may be uniquely suited to helping them.
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18 hours of fasting. 100+ pills a day. Bizarre body-zapping tech. $2 million in routines a year. We tried @bryanjohnson_’s extreme age-reversal regimen for 1 month. Here’s what happened to…
From the Freethink Archives: March 9, 2023 | Los Angeles has launched Metro Micro, a new on-demand public transportation service that will pick you up and take you on short…
Meet Marcus Bullock. He founded Flikshop, an app to send postcards to prison. Bullock’s story behind starting the business is nothing short of inspiring. At just fifteen years old, he…
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We focus on solutions: the smartest people, the biggest ideas, and the most groundbreaking technology shaping our future.
Building a Solarpunk Future
Quantum computer designs heat-radiating window coating
Notre Dame researchers have used quantum computing to design a transparent window coating that reflects heat into the atmosphere.
Molten salt reactors could save nuclear power
Molten salt reactors, a type of nuclear reactor first explored in the 1950s, could be the future of clean energy.
NASA detects 50+ methane “super-emitters” from space
A new instrument aboard the International Space Station has been used to identify more than 50 “super-emitters” of methane.
This amphibious electric tricycle (and camper) costs $14,600
Latvian startup BeTRITON’s amphibious electric tricycle will take you from the road to the water to the campsite.
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Zapping injured brains can improve cognition and memory
Brain stimulation is helping people recover from traumatic brain injuries, even years later.
Zapping injured brains can improve cognition and memory
Advancing the Space Frontier
NASA’s Orion spacecraft sends back first images
NASA has shared the first images from its Orion spacecraft, which is expected to do a lunar flyby on November 21.
A far-out plan to build an asteroid city
University of Rochester researchers think they have a solution to creating an asteroid city: a giant bag.
Twin exoplanets may be the first known “water worlds”
Twin exoplanets 218 light years from Earth may be the first known examples of “water worlds.”
Original Series
Meet the people whose bold ideas might sound crazy… but also Just Might Work.
Freethink Favorites
Stories focused on interesting solutions to big problems.
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Just Might Work
Biohackers take aim at big pharma’s stranglehold on insulin
These biohackers plan to give away their instructions for how to make insulin for free.
Farming robot kills 200,000 weeds per hour with lasers
Carbon Robotics’ LaserWeeder is a smart farming robot that identifies weeds and then kills them using high-power lasers.
Supercentenarians’ DNA reveals clues to human longevity
A human longevity study involving people over the age of 105 has found that genetic variants linked to DNA repair appear to contribute to a longer life.
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Just Might Work
How robots could end animal captivity in zoos and marine parks
Could robotic dolphins help marine parks become more humane spaces where people can learn about and connect with nature?
Twisty nuclear fusion reactor gets twice as hot as the sun
Physicists optimized a nuclear fusion reactor to overcome a problem that causes heat loss and prevents the device from sustaining fusion.
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Coded
Tractor-hacking farmers take on John Deere
Tractor hacking is a fast-growing trend in the farming community — but it’s not outsiders breaking in.
Japan breaks world record for fastest internet speed
Engineers in Japan have set a new world record for fastest internet speed — 319 Tb/s — using a specially developed fiber-optic cable.
Sophia the Robot will be mass-produced this year
Hanson Robotics is going to begin mass-producing Sophia the robot in 2021, making the social robot available to help combat the pandemic.
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Challengers
This DIY laptop is challenging tech giants like Apple & Microsoft
Disposable tech is part of big tech’s business model. This engineer is fighting back by creating a DIY laptop anyone can repair on their own.
Prisoners will get a $2,750 check when they leave prison
A non-profit is experimenting with providing prisoners a $2,750 check when they leave prison. The goal is to reduce recidivism and help people get a fresh start.
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Hard Reset
How mirrors could power the planet… and prevent wars
If adopted globally, concentrated solar power could make major waves in manufacturing, not to mention prevent wars over oil and mitigate climate change.