Topic description and stories

About half the world’s population uses the internet. How do we take advantage of this digital connectivity and also protect society from risk?

pharmaceuticals

How bright is your digital future?

18 Jan 2017

Dr Jag Srai, Head of the Centre for International Manufacturing at Cambridge's Institute for Manufacturing, and colleagues are developing new ways to...

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Still from Pain in the Machine

Pain in the machine: a Cambridge Shorts film

02 Nov 2016

The pain we experience as humans has physical and emotional components. Could we develop a machine that feels pain a similar way – and would we want...

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Protecting our data and identity: how should the law respond?

28 Oct 2016

Many of us see our privacy as a basic right. But in the digital world of app-addiction, geolocation tracking and social oversharing, some may have...

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Facebook Like Button

Facebook updates could provide a window to understanding – and treating – mental health disorders

28 Oct 2016

Our Facebook status updates, ‘likes’ and even photos could help researchers better understand mental health disorders with the right ethical...

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Moon1

Elvis is alive and the Moon landings were faked: the (conspiracy) theory of everything

25 Oct 2016

As a global population we are awash with conspiracy theories. But what effect do these really have on the public as we go about our day-to-day lives...

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Combating cybercrime when there's plenty of phish in the sea

21 Oct 2016

As more and more crime moves online, computer scientists, criminologists and legal academics have joined forces in Cambridge to improve our...

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Artificial intelligence: computer says YES (but is it right?)

20 Oct 2016

Computers that learn for themselves are with us now. As they become more common in ‘high-stakes’ applications like robotic surgery, terrorism...

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Could cryptocurrency help the ‘bottom billion’?

17 Oct 2016

Many of the world’s poorest poor don’t have access to a bank account and yet depend on being able to transfer money across borders. Could digital...

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Internet censorship: making the hidden visible

14 Oct 2016

Despite being founded on ideals of freedom and openness, censorship on the internet is rampant, with more than 60 countries engaging in some form of...

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'Syrian Hero Boy'

The Whistle: verifying digital evidence of human rights violations

12 Oct 2016

Smartphones and social media have made it easy for accidental witnesses “in the wrong place at the wrong time” to capture and share violations and...

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When is a book not a book?

10 Oct 2016

The e-book has made continued inroads into the publishing world but the printed book has defied predictions of its death. Research by Professor John...

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World travel and communications recorded on Twitter

Talkin' 'bout a revolution: how to make the digital world work for us

03 Oct 2016

The digital revolution is one of the great social transformations of our time. How can we make the most of it, and also minimise and manage its risks...

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