In The News

Creative Self-Disruption

Mohamed A. El-Erian April 9, 2015
New businesses emerge and expand, disrupting established businesses with unprecedented speed: “companies like Airbnb, Amazon, Apple, and Uber exemplify a different kind of transformation: agile players invade other, seemingly unrelated industries and brilliantly exploit huge but previously unseen opportunities,” writes economist Mohamed A. El-Erian for Project Syndicate. “Central to these...

Global Push Aims to Change China's Mind on Bank Rules: US Official

Krista Hughes March 23, 2015
Japan, the EU and the US are urging China to delay enforcing new rules “that would force technology vendors to Chinese banks to hand over secret source code and adopt Chinese encryption algorithms,” reports Krista Hughes for Reuters Canada. China expects those hoping to do business in the world’s most populous nation to abide by Chinese law. The rules – proposed as cybersecurity and...

“Big Brother” Technology Comes to Australia's Shops

Nina Hendy March 23, 2015
Most shoppers realize that retailers analyze internet traffic to study consumer habits. But free wireless in retail stores, restaurants and hotels could also turn consumer phones into tracking devices. “Retailers and other businesses with high foot traffic - such as pubs, cafes and restaurants - are increasingly offering free access to wi-fi networks and asking consumers to grant access to their...

Can Cities Change Earth's Evolution?

Adam Frank March 9, 2015
Organisms adapt slowly to changes in their environment, with new traits developing over the course of many years. Now researchers hope to speed the process, at least with urbanization, described as among the most extreme forms of an environment altered by its inhabitants. “Eco-evolutionary dynamics in a rapidly urbanizing world is the subject of a new paper by Marina Alberti, a professor at the...

Carbon Crash, Solar Dawn: Deutsche Bank on Why Solar Has Won

Giles Parkinson March 9, 2015
Solar energy could increase tenfold to become the world’s dominant electricity source by 2030 and account for 30 percent of the market by 2050, notes a Deutsche Bank report. Most growth is anticipated in developing economies, especially for the 20 percent of the world’s people who lack access to grid electricity. Solar could account for 25 percent of India’s total capacity in less than a decade....

Only Net Neutrality Can Protect the Internet From Becoming Like TV

Malkia Cyril February 27, 2015
The US Federal Communications Commission ruled 3 to 2 that the internet is a utility and should be regulated as such. The rules have yet to be written; appeals and litigation are expected. “Internet Service Providers want to break the internet into fast and slow lanes that sell public voice to the highest bidder,” writes Malkia Cyril in an opinion essay for the Guardian. A multi-tier system could...

Google's Vint Cerf Warns of “Digital Dark Age”

Pallab Ghosh February 18, 2015
Creators of all types, whether in businesses or universities, rely on computers for storage of countless documents and images. But computer hardware and software quickly become obsolete, warns Vint Cerf, a Google vice president, and many items could be lost before their value is even recognized. Users often neglect to make backup files, and viruses could destroy documents, too. “Vint Cerf is...