More than 3 million people (three times previous estimates) are estimated to be actively using cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, finds the first global cryptocurrency benchmarking study by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance.
Alexander Taylor provides a sensory snapshot of his fieldwork in high-security subterranean data centres exploring fears of technological failure in our data-dependent society.
New work focusing on the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge reveals very brief shelf life of such viral campaigns, and suggests the nature of ‘virality’ and social tipping points themselves may be a stumbling block to deeper engagement with social issues that campaigns aim to promote.
Dr Jag Srai, Head of the Centre for International Manufacturing at Cambridge's Institute for Manufacturing, and colleagues are developing new ways to help companies embrace the challenges and opportunities of digitalising the extended supply chain. Here, he provides a glimpse of this digital future.
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 to? The first of four Cambridge Shorts looks at the possibilities and challenges.
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 cause to wonder if that right is steadily and sometimes willingly being eroded away.
Our Facebook status updates, ‘likes’ and even photos could help researchers better understand mental health disorders with the right ethical safeguards, argue researchers from the University of Cambridge, who suggest that social networks may even be used in future to provide support and interventions, particularly among young people.
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, asks a team of Cambridge researchers.
As more and more crime moves online, computer scientists, criminologists and legal academics have joined forces in Cambridge to improve our understanding and responses to cybercrime, helping governments, businesses and ordinary users construct better defences.
Computers that learn for themselves are with us now. As they become more common in ‘high-stakes’ applications like robotic surgery, terrorism detection and driverless cars, researchers ask what can be done to make sure we can trust them.
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