AI hallucinations: Turn on, tune in, beep boopChatbots aren't always right. Researchers call these faulty performances "hallucinations."
The Quartz Obsession podcastOnline voting: Yes or noEstonia pioneered online voting in its elections almost two decades ago. Could the US replicate its success?Quartz Staff
The Quartz Obsession podcastSingle-use plastics: The message in a bottleSingle-use plastics are a problem, but why is it often the duty of consumers to do something about it?Quartz Staff
The Quartz Obsession podcastAI hallucinations: Turn on, tune in, beep boopChatbots aren't always right. Researchers call these faulty performances "hallucinations."Quartz Staff
The Quartz Obsession podcastSuperapps: There can be only oneDespite antitrust scrutiny, the dream of building a superapp in the US persists.
Smart homes: Built to crashWe fill our houses with the Internet of Things, but the technology leaves much to be desired.
The World’s Fair: Tech’s bygone showcaseWorld's Fairs provided a glimpse into new inventions and technologies from across the globe.
Tree planting: Sowing complacencyNot only is tree planting not that helpful in offsetting carbon emissions—it might even be counterproductive
Fusion power: Don't overreactThis new source of energy could revolutionize our approach to consumption and climate change
Green burials: Leave no traceInside the industry devoted to handling death in an ecologically sustainable way
Firetech: A match for Silicon ValleyInside the startups focused on developing technology to control and prevent fires
Earth observation: Taking the long viewInside the most impactful industry to launch into space over the past decade
Your chart: A body of informationEpic, the maker of MyChart, is the keeper of health records for 200 million Americans
The invisible hand: Capitalism's misunderstood metaphorAdam Smith, the legendary 18th century Scottish philosopher, coined the usage of this economics term
Mushroom leather: Fungi saves fashionMycelium leather could be the greenest solution to a big problem for the planet
Tech & InnovationPodcasts: Let’s get metaAsynchronous, on-demand talk radio was a bold proposition back in 2004, when podcasts first started making waves. Less than 20 years later, podcasting is a big business. But monetization has its downsides: What began as a freewheeling,…
MarketsInflation: The price isn’t rightPrices for goods, from furniture to meat, have been steadily rising for months. It’s the most obvious symptom of inflation, which is when money buys less than it used to. But there’s no need to panic: This is far from the first time inflation has…
LifestylePerfume: The strangest supply chainShipping snafus have hit everything from Pelotons to paper towels, and they’re also coming for perfume. From Chanel No. 5’s secret recipe to the modern proliferation of DIY scents, this global industry has supply chains as delicate as the scents…
Energy TransitionDyslexia: Thinking differentlyThough scientists first identified dyslexia over a century ago, politicians, parents, and educators still struggle to teach students that suffer from it. In the English-speaking world, dyslexia has become a great unequalizer, pushing those with…
EconomicsReplacement rate: Counting our chickens2.1—that’s how many children every woman “needs to have.” Any fewer, and a country’s population will eventually stop growing, age, and shrink, which could inhibit its economic growth and drain government coffers. But it’s easier said than done:…
LifestylePasta: A global staplePasta’s path to pantries all over the world is inextricably tied to Italy, the country that used technology and mass production to turn a homemade food into a commercial product. Even as pasta-makers market an idealized version of the Italian…
MarketsNational debt: Acceptable imbalanceAs individuals, we know it’s not great to have too much debt. But at the macro level, that narrative falls apart. In fact, most governments need some debt to take care of their people, especially in the wake of a crisis like a pandemic. How a…
Tech & InnovationEdible bugs: The original superfoodBetween lab-grown meat and veganism going mainstream, we’re in an age of abundance for alternative protein options. But one hasn’t been getting as much attention as the others: Edible insects, popular in places like Ghana and Mexico, are nutritious,…
LifestylePuffer jackets: The price of staying warmPuffer jackets have been worn by outdoorsmen, rappers, the military, luxury shoppers, and—eventually—everyone. Today, the market is still heating up.
LifestyleSequels: Here we go againAfter the release of a great film, it seems natural to us now that they’d want to make another. But this was not always the case. Now that Hollywood seems to almost compulsively turn successful films into franchises, reboots, and cinematic…
Tech & InnovationProsthetics: Upgrade availableAthletes at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics had prosthetics perfectly designed to help them run, jump, or swim as the events required. Now the technology behind those prosthetics is coming to everyday people who need it—and, possibly, to people who…
LifestyleDisco: Choosing joyThey tried to kill disco, but it will never die. The stubbornly upbeat genre came out of an economically turbulent moment—one to which we see a lot of parallels today. So what is it about a crisis that just makes us want to dance?
Business NewsFish sticks: The ocean’s little problem solversFish sticks are more than just an easy way to get kids to eat healthy food. They’re the ocean’s little problem solvers, swimming in to solve a seafood glut after World War II, and to help working parents in need of cheap and easy meals. Now fish…
LifestyleIndian weddings: The priciest party of your lifeIt’s the stuff of Bollywood dreams, come to life—the big fat Indian wedding has withstood the test of time, economic turbulence, social reform, and even modern technology. But when you factor in pent-up pandemic demand, can India’s $50 billion…
Tech & InnovationGoogle docs: Life in the cloudGoogle docs have revolutionized the way we work, and now it even functions as a tool for social sharing and political dissent. This is all because the world shifted from saving files locally to storing them in the cloud. But has Google docs made us t…
Energy TransitionEgg freezing: Put it on iceAs more people aren’t sure whether or when to have kids, a growing number of them are turning to egg freezing, a relatively new and expensive procedure that could help women become parents outside their biological bounds. But how realistic is any…
Business NewsCAPTCHA: Made you lookThose internet security tests that ask you to retype blurry numbers or pick out photos of traffic lights have an important job: They stop robots from gumming up the internet. But by using them everywhere, we’re training computers to see the world…
Business NewsRandomness: A need for chaosThe global economy needs true randomness to encrypt messages and make sure elections are honest. But not all randomness is random enough, and humans and computers alike are really bad at generating it. So we turn to natural sources like seismic…
EconomicsSix Sigma: Manufacturing perfectionIn the early 2000s, GE was the world’s most powerful company, and its CEO Jack Welch was a firm believer in the Six Sigma system for eliminating errors in manufacturing. With GE as its poster child, management consultants spread the gospel of Six…
EconomicsOffice chairs: Engineered for extreme sittingEveryone working from home knows just how painful it is to sit in the wrong kind of chair. Over the course of centuries, the modern office chair has emerged as the pinnacle of ergonomic comfort and support. Today, as a growing number of jobs are…
Business NewsJapanese whisky: One steep sipAfter spending decades in relative obscurity, Japanese whisky is finally getting global appreciation for its masterful flavors. Global demand is high, with prices to match. There’s just one problem: There’s no technical definition of Japanese…
Tech & InnovationRare earths: Scarcity at your fingertipsA group of 17 elements make up a little-known group called rare earth metals. They are notoriously tricky to extract, which is unfortunate since they’re key components in smartphones, batteries, motors, and wind turbines, and essential to a…
Business NewsKudzu: We’ve made a big mistakeKudzu, an ornamental vine from Japan, first appeared on US soil in 1876. More than a century later, the plant has proliferated so uncontrollably that it threatens to choke out native plants in the American South. As the world looks for creative…
Tech & InnovationOat milk: Don’t call it creamyIf you’re concerned about sustainability and wellness, chances are you’re a consumer of oat milk, the latest star in the alternative milk scene. But does oat milk have appeal around the world? And who will lose out as big dairy muscles into the alt…
Business NewsBusiness class: Luxury in the skyBigger seat, more legroom, even silk pajamas: Flying business class comes with major perks for travelers. It’s also crucial to the entire airline business model. But given the seats’ outsized carbon footprint, how ethical is it to keep flying…
LifestyleAfrobeats: A global soundThe beat-heavy, electronic music from Nigeria has been gaining a global fan base and is a point of pride across Africa. It’s also finally helping local artists make real money. But is Afrobeats establishing a path to global domination that other…
Business NewsCAPTCHA: Made you lookThose internet security tests that ask you to retype blurry numbers or pick out photos of traffic lights have an important job: They stop robots from gumming up the internet. But by using them everywhere, we’re training computers to see the world…
Business NewsRandomness: A need for chaosThe global economy needs true randomness to encrypt messages and make sure elections are honest. But not all randomness is random enough, and humans and computers alike are really bad at generating it. So we turn to natural sources like seismic…