Seven Must-Read Stories (Week Ending April 19, 2014)

 

Another chance to catch the most interesting, and important, articles from the previous week on MIT Technology Review.

1. Does Musk’s Gigafactory Make Sense?
   Tesla’s audacious plan to build a giant battery factory may mostly be a clever negotiating tactic.
2. Selling Teslas in China Won’t Do Much for the Environment
   Because China relies so heavily on coal for power, electric vehicles aren’t necessarily an improvement over gasoline-powered cars.
3. World Cup Mind-Control Demo Faces Deadlines, Critics
   A Brazilian neuroscientist says brain-controlled robotics will let the paralyzed walk again.
4. The Limits of Social Engineering
   Tapping into big data, researchers and planners are building mathematical models of personal and civic behavior. But the models may hide rather than reveal the deepest sources of social ills.
5. The Underappreciated Ties Between Art and Innovation
   Author Sarah Lewis discusses some counterintuitive pathways to breakthroughs.
6. Laws and Ethics Can’t Keep Pace with Technology
   Codes we live by, laws we follow, and computers that move too fast to care.
7. How to Detect Criminal Gangs Using Mobile Phone Data
   Law enforcement agencies are turning to social network theory to better understand the behaviors and habits of criminal gangs.