Magazine

The Computing issue

November/December 2021

Computation is the driving technological force behind many modern social and economic shifts. To better understand how computers will impact critical areas of our lives, we explore how they’re being used today and what forces will shape their future.

Read the issue

Letter from the editor

Hello, from the mysterious world of computing

Saiman Chow

Features

Categorized in Biotechnology and health
Brain implants could be the next computer mouse
What the world’s fastest brain-typist is telling us about the future of computer interfaces.
Categorized in Computing
How to fight hate online
Data scientist Jennifer Chayes thinks we can use computational tools to root out bad behavior online.
Categorized in Computing
This chemist is reimagining the discovery of materials using AI and automation
Alán Aspuru-Guzik is using AI, robots, and even quantum computing to create the new materials that we will need to fight climate change.
Categorized in Computing
Inside the machine that saved Moore’s Law
The Dutch firm ASML spent $9 billion and 17 years developing a way to keep making denser computer chips.
Categorized in Computing
The 50-year-old problem that eludes theoretical computer science
A solution to P vs NP could unlock countless computational problems—or keep them forever out of reach.
Categorized in Artificial intelligence
How computing has transformed
Jeanette Wing believes trustworthy AI and causal reasoning can help society solve real-world problems. But it won’t be easy.
Categorized in Fiction
Be a good example
"It was in the newspaper, but the towers fell the next day, and what I’d done was quickly lost."
Categorized in Computing
An uber-optimistic view of the future
Azeem Azhar’s new book “Exponential Age” predicts stupendous technology growth will lead to an age of abundance. The reality is more complicated.

Also in this issue
- Where computing might go next
  The future of computing depends in part on how we reckon with its past.
  
  Categorized in Computing
- How two new supercomputers will improve weather forecasts
  Each of the upgrades by the US National Weather Service is the size of 10 refrigerators, has the capacity of 12.1 petaflops, and will help predict storms made worse by climate change.
  
  Categorized in Computing
- 3 space science questions that computing is helping to answer
  Astronomers are using AI, supercomputing, and the cloud to tackle the universe’s biggest mysteries.
  
  Categorized in Space
- What’s missing from the push to diversify tech
  Focusing on hiring pipelines or career pathways alone won’t solve tech’s diversity and inclusion problems. Here’s what will.
  
  Categorized in Opinion
- These impossible instruments could change the future of music
  A research project to make digital instruments sound more realistic takes a hard left turn.
  
  Categorized in Computing
- Whatever happened to DNA computing?
  Many alternatives to silicon have been proposed over the years. Some are finding their way into computing.
  
  Categorized in Computing
- How Alibaba tracks China’s delivery drivers
  The food delivery service Eleme, owned by Alibaba, built a Bluetooth tracking system to make “instant delivery” a reality.
  
  Categorized in Humans and technology
- Laptops alone can’t bridge the digital divide
  The failures of One Laptop per Child have much to teach us about fixing educational inequities.
  
  Categorized in Computing
- The metaverse could actually help people
  It sounds like—and often is—a dumb catchphrase used by the tech elite. But the metaverse has real potential to change how we think about pain management, grieving, and systemic prejudice.
  
  Categorized in Opinion
- How tackling tech’s diversity challenges can spur innovation
  Computer scientist Nicki Washington spends much of her time talking with white and Asian men about how their identities influence their work.
  
  Categorized in Computing
- We are awash in digital light
  In a book by Pixar co-founder Alvy Ray Smith, the humble pixel gets the attention it deserves.
  
  Categorized in Computing
- How we covered the evolution of computing
  To flip through the archives of MIT Technology Review is to see the development of the computer unfold as it happened.
  
  Categorized in From the archives

Updated

Magazine

The Computing issue

Letter from the editor

Features

Brain implants could be the next computer mouse

How to fight hate online

This chemist is reimagining the discovery of materials using AI and automation

Inside the machine that saved Moore’s Law

The 50-year-old problem that eludes theoretical computer science

How computing has transformed

Be a good example

An uber-optimistic view of the future

Where computing might go next

How two new supercomputers will improve weather forecasts

3 space science questions that computing is helping to answer

What’s missing from the push to diversify tech

These impossible instruments could change the future of music

Whatever happened to DNA computing?

How Alibaba tracks China’s delivery drivers

Laptops alone can’t bridge the digital divide

The metaverse could actually help people

How tackling tech’s diversity challenges can spur innovation

We are awash in digital light

How we covered the evolution of computing

Past issues

The latest iteration of a legacy

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