A piece examining the series of challenges Facebook has faced as it struggles to manage the intended and unintended consequences of its huge scale and the reach it has into many parts of its users’ lives.
A special issue of Wired contains several strong pieces looking at the complex freedom of speech trade-offs required in the new information era. Pieces include – the web infrastructure company Cloudflare being embroiled in a free speech debate when offering services to far-right extremists, Reddit as a case study for civil discourse online, a startup making smartphone-neutralising pouches, six stories of censorship, and a look at a database of extremists called Whack-a-Mole.
A look at the new credit scoring tools available in China, made possible by deep integration of services around a small handful of companies, and reaching into almost every part of daily life. As one user succinctly puts it – “If your friends are all high-score people, it’s good for you. If you have some bad-credit people as friends, it’s not nice.”
A leading veterinary surgeon, the perfect man if you have “a tiger with gallstones, or a suspiciously sickly beaver”, has been turning his hand to a broad array of endangered animals.
A piece examining the extent of Russian cyber warfare in the Ukraine.
A gripping read on a devastating global cyber attack that affected millions around the world and nearly wiped out the shipping giant Maersk’s entire IT operations. They survived only due to an accident of fate, and the virus went on to cause an estimated $10bn of damage worldwide.
A look at the advances being made in the gene editing of food and the opportunities, and challenges, created by this potentially transformative technology.
As Donald Trump announces plans for a “Space Force” this article explains why space is the latest area marked for conflict.
Bored teenagers looking to make some extra cash have played a major part in spreading the fake news that has influenced major global events – this piece looks at how they do it.
The story of Tezos, just one of many in the constellation of blockchain related startups, but with unusual personalities and disputes behind the scenes. http://bit.ly/wired-tezos