Stanford neuroscientist William B. Hurlbut talks about his dealings with the Chinese researcher who created the world’s first gene-edited babies, and about the implications of that experiment.
The dark side of human nature is always with us. In the face of new trends in the world around, we need to think about how we, as individuals, will proceed.
Insight Video: If warnings about environmental disaster or the threat of war seem overly alarmist—that things always work out in the end—maybe it’s time to think again.
Neuroscientist Anders Sandberg talks about the challenges and risks inherent in our steady march toward an age where machine intelligence surpasses that of human beings.
Insight Video: The perilous state of our natural world is enough to induce anxiety and distress in all but those who refuse to see. Is there any reason for hope?
With a glut of information at our fingertips, three authors not only discuss the challenge of determining whom we can trust but also offer some helpful guidelines.
Insight Video: The appointment of Mohammad Shtayyeh as Palestinian prime minister suggests the possibility of renewed momentum in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
What kind of world will our children inherit? Today’s environmental problems call for a long-term global solution—one that upends a current business-as-usual focus on near-term benefit.
Piers Millett of Oxford University’s Future of Humanity Institute talks about potential global biological catastrophes stemming from such risks as bioterrorism, pandemic disease and genetic manipulation.
Twentieth-century totalitarians shared a number of characteristics. With a new crop of autocrats entering the world stage, learning the lessons of our recent history is vital.
