Science and Technology
Why We Don’t Act
Why do we fail to predict—and even more importantly, prevent—social and political crises?
The Lives of Others
Combatting the West’s pandemic self-interest requires humanism in addition to humility.
Empty Promises
Innovation is a social endeavor. We must not forget the need to invest in and sustain its social infrastructure.
The Innovation Fantasy
Why should innovation-based growth be at the top of regional policymaking agendas?
Detroit Points the Way
No single strategy will fit all places, but the revitalization of Detroit could provide a model for other cities.
Beyond Elite Innovation
Innovation is not just for elites. The poor and rural innovate all the time, using what they have.
What Silicon Valley Gets Wrong about Innovation
To generate local, inclusive prosperity, cities must think beyond tech accelerators and science parks.
The Inescapable Dilemma of Infectious Disease
Our mastery over microbes is only a few decades old. It is also far more precarious than we imagine.
The Long-Term Safety Argument over COVID-19 Vaccines
Concerns about long-term side effects have helped fuel vaccine hesitancy. An immunologist explains why we can be confident in vaccine safety.
Hospitals Need More Than Vaccine Mandates
If we want to address vaccine hesitancy in the health care system, we must treat its lowest paid workers better.
UFOs and the Boundaries of Science
This summer, an intelligence report and a new Harvard research project have renewed the public’s interest in UFOs. But neither is likely to change many minds.
Here Come the Robot Nurses
The pandemic increased demand and possibilities for automating care, but doing so may deliver racist stereotypes and unemployment for women of color.
Workplace Training in the Age of AI
To support the work of the future, we must promote workers’ skills as crucial to technological progress.
What Are “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena”?
A recent government report gave UFOs a rebrand, but so many basic questions remain unanswered.
Stop Building Bad AI
Justice demands that we think not just about profit or performance, but above all about purpose.