If you’re a drug manufacturer looking for patients, one company has become a major destination in the past few years: Facebook. The social media giant, through its power to target users based on their interests, is especially attractive to pharmaceutical companies looking to sell drugs to potential patients. The Washington Postreported last yearthat health and pharmaceutical companies spent almost $1 billion on just Facebook mobile ads in 2019. The draw? Unlike a traditional TV or radio ad, Facebook’s ad categories help those companies target their drug ads at users who likely suffer from a specific illness the drug treats....

In 2007, the United States military began using a small, handheld device to collect and match the iris, fingerprint and facial scans of over1.5 million Afghansagainst a database of biometric data. The device, known as Handheld Interagency Identity Detection Equipment (HIIDE), was initially developed by the U.S. government as a means tolocate insurgentsand other wanted individuals. Over time, for the sake of efficiency, the system came to include the data of Afghans assisting the U....

At an event in London late last year, three young journalists discussed how blogging helped to kickstart their careers. Asreportedat the time by Journalism.co.uk, Guardian technology and media reporterJosh Hallidaystated that “The most important thing I did at university, including my degree, was to blog and get online. That’s what got me the job.” The growing list of student bloggers who have found their way into good ‘pro’ jobs also includesHannah Waldram, who founded theBournville Villageblog, ended up taking to professional local blogging as the Cardiff ‘beatblogger‘ for The Guardian’s nowmothballedLocal project before becoming a community coordinator for the same newspaper, andDave Lee, who foundedThe Lincnewspaper and website in his university town of Lincoln before moving on to a varied career that currently sees him covering technology news for the BBC....

January 12th is one of the most important days of the year. That’s right, it’s the birthday ofJeff Bezos. While ingrates mark the milestone by insolentlyasking the entrepreneurto stop union-busting, we want to celebrate the joyous occasion with a song: Bo Burnham’s “Bezos I.” The lyrics tell the touching tale of Jeffrey’s selfless mission to become a tech oligarch. The track was a highlight of Burnham’s Netflix special,Inside,but its legacy didn’t end there....

The problem with reality is that it tends to insist upon itself. Scientists have long pondered whether we might actually live in a simulation. But that doesn’t change our experience. If we’re in the Matrix, it’s a very convincing lie. Which brings us to the obvious question: is it even possible for humans to “live” inside of a computer simulation? One way to answer that would be to build one of our own....