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Technological Progress
As the global economy moves beyond oil, the strategic importance of the world’s most critical hydrocarbon chokepoint is likely to decline rapidly.
A firsthand look at China’s material progress and clean-tech revolution -- and what could happen if we let an authoritarian state steer AI's future.
AI is unlocking unprecedented capabilities — and exposing new vulnerabilities just as quickly.
Every generation has faced a version of this moment — the question has never been what our tools can do, but what we choose to do with them.
Science fiction romanticized Mars as a place of adventure and future settlement; science tells a very different story.
Technology, shifting rules, and human ambition push athletes beyond biology’s perceived limits.
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
AI has brought a reckoning to the consulting industry — and the death knell will quickly sound for those who fail to adapt.
An introduction to "The Engine of Progress" from Jason Crawford, founder of the Roots of Progress Institute.
Common law has long balanced innovation and accountability. Can it do the same for AI?
To turn technical breakthroughs into real-world change, AI must overcome the friction of politics, policy, and human institutions.
With new labs, funding models, and institutions, metascience is reinventing the machinery of discovery.
Government-spec’d glory projects produce tech demos. Enduring progress demands a better way forward.
Leaders in China hope that AI and robotics can finally resolve the flaws of a centralized planned economy. But US technoculture has an edge.
"Think of it like a transcontinental railroad — not the fastest way to move a lot of mass, but certainly the most efficient,” Jared Isaacman said about nuclear electric propulsion.
The predictions of evolutionary theorists and current advances in “multimodal AI” offer strong clues to the future of employment.
A reduced working week, argues Juliet Schor, is part of a sane response to the impacts of AI and robotization on human labor.
Americans have gone through three historic junctures like what we're witnessing today — and they happen on an uncanny 80-year cycle.
How the cult hit sci-fi show imagines a “techno-realist” future.
Many expect AI to follow a familiar pattern — technological disruption followed by adaptation — but what are we losing in return?
A new SETI study shows how far the field of technosignatures has come.
We need to fully acknowledge problems, while vigorously pursuing solutions. Call it “solutionism.”
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
Astronomer Adam Frank reflects on some responses to his recent appearance on the Lex Fridman Podcast.
A wave of innovation is coursing through the nuclear industry — but ingrained opposition is the biggest roadblock.
Experts answer 10 big questions about the nightmare scenario that could send us back to the pre-Space Age.
From tulips to Bitcoin, bubbles have been given a bad rap as destroyers of dreams — but they’re essential for our brightest future. Here’s why.
It’s been 65 years since Richard Feynman saw “plenty of room” in the nano-world. Are we finally getting down there?
A prolonged strike could cost the economy between $500 million to $4.5 billion per day.
Are breakthroughs really a matter of chance, or are they simply waiting to be uncovered by the right person at the right time?