Can Robots Save an Aging Japan?; The New York Times, August 6, 2026

Hannah Beech and Kiuko Notoya

Visuals by Chang W. Lee, 

The New York Times; Can Robots Save an Aging Japan?

"Across Yamagata, local officials have tried out various robot — and robot-aspiring — solutions to the precipitous demographic decline. The 48-year-old mayor of Nishikawa, Daishi Kanno, secured $40,000 in funding for Pochi and other “smart agriculture” innovations. Like other prefectural leaders, he has chosen technology over another potential fix to the nation’s labor shortage: welcoming more foreign workers."

From the first U.S. patent to the next 250 years of American innovation; United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), August 4, 2026 1 PM EDT

 United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) ; From the first U.S. patent to the next 250 years of American innovation

"Join the USPTO as we commemorate the 236th anniversary of the first U.S. patent and celebrate 250 years of American innovation. Join us virtually on August 4, 2026, from 1-2 p.m. ET. 

What you will learn:

• The history of the first U.S. patent
• How the patent system works today
• Resources available to inventors and small businesses
• How American inventors have shaped the nation over the past 250 years

On July 31, 1790, the United States granted the first U.S. patent to Samuel Hopkins for an improved process for making potash. This patent, signed by George Washington, was the first of nearly 13 million patents the U.S. government has granted.

This program will connect that historic milestone to the present day. Speakers will explore the origins of the patent system, how it supports innovation today, and how inventors, entrepreneurs, and small businesses can use USPTO resources.  

This event is part of the agency’s efforts to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary and highlight the important role of intellectual property in our nation’s growth."

When His Church Goes Dark, They Talk to His Digital Twin; The New York Times, July 30, 2026

Eli Saslow

Visuals by Erin Schaff

, The New York Times ; When His Church Goes Dark, They Talk to His Digital Twin

To meet the growing needs of his congregation, Justin Lester created an A.I. duplicate of himself. Every day he sees more people using it.

"In the last year, Lester and hundreds of others have brought A.I. into its most human form yet by transferring their thoughts into data and building online replicas of themselves. The digital twins can answer in the real person’s voice and apply their thinking on demand for anyone who wants to chat online or call. Some companies now build twins that sit on Zoom calls for C.E.O.s or manage projects while their owners are on vacation. Professors at Clemson University deploy them to answer student questions at 2 a.m. A sex therapist uses her digital twin to offer individual counseling to hundreds of people at once. A man in Berlin created a twin after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, so his wife could still talk to him before bed...

He told them he’d been finding inspiration lately in the story of Paul, Christ’s first great missionary, who started churches all over the Mediterranean world. Paul was sometimes shipwrecked or imprisoned, so he relied on the cutting-edge technology of the time to continue his work. He wrote letters to extend his presence so his ideas could travel beyond his body.

Now Lester looked out at his congregants and pointed to a quote framed on the wall: “We reach those no one reaches by doing what no one is doing,” it read.

“We have to stop being scared of A.I. and start using it as a tool,” he said. “If we steward this technology correctly, it can bring more people to God.”"

Has Trump Changed Democracy Forever? We Asked 11 Historians.; Politico, July 4, 2026

POLITICO MAGAZINE, Politico;  Has Trump Changed Democracy Forever? We Asked 11 Historians.

Experts on U.S. history look to the past — and the future.

"From a fledgling republic to a global superpower, the United States has constantly reinvented itself over the last 250 years.

Americans have expanded democracy and driven innovation. They’ve also confronted war, economic upheaval and long struggles over equality and justice.

Now, the country faces a new era of uncertainty: Americans are debating the United States’ role in the world, losing faith in its institutions and grappling with deep political and cultural divisions. In this moment, the semiquincentennial gives us the opportunity to evaluate the latest iteration of America — and how we got here.

To mark America 250, we asked 11 historians and writers to reflect on the lessons U.S. history has taught us. They told us what grade they’d give the current state of American democracy, what it means to be an American today and what the country needs to last another 250 years."

Intellectual property supports the U.S. economy. It should be respected abroad.; The Washington Post, June 18, 2026

  

David Kappos

 and 

Jeffrey Gerrish

, The Washington Post; Intellectual property supports the U.S. economy. It should be respected abroad.

"Many countries proudly tout close economic ties to the United States — but when it comes to protecting the intellectual property rights that help make the American economy strong, those trading partners often prove unreliable. 

That failure comes at a steep cost. Intellectual-property-intensive industries support more than 62 million U.S. jobs and 41 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product, according to a 2019 report from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. When other countries ignore — or actively attack — IP protections and allow their domestic companies to illicitly profit off American innovation, it hurts U.S. companies, workers and investors."

Draft of King’s ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’ found at Virginia seminary archives; Episcopal News Service, June 5, 2026

Adelle M. Banks , Episcopal News Service; Draft of King’s ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’ found at Virginia seminary archives

[Kip Currier: The recent finding of a draft of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 "Letter from Birmingham Jail", within a collection of archived papers at Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), is a persuasive and tangible reminder of the importance of preserving and providing access to historical and archival records. It's also a compelling example of the need for dedicated stewards of information with expertise and a commitment to fiduciary shepherding of the world's knowledge and human culture.

As both a long-time space exploration aficionado and author of the 2025 Bloomsbury book Ethics, Information, and Technology -- which examines issues like supporting access to information and preserving historical records -- I can't help but recall the Trump 2.0 administration's decision to close NASA's research library at the Goddard Space Flight Center in January 2026. As reported in a New York Times article (December 31, 2025):

The Trump administration is closing NASA’s largest research library on Friday, a facility that houses tens of thousands of books, documents and journals — many of them not digitized or available anywhere else.

Jacob Richmond, a NASA spokesman, said the agency would review the library holdings over the next 60 days and some material would be stored in a government warehouse while the rest would be tossed away.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/climate/nasa-goddard-library-closing.html

What items were "tossed away" that might someday have yielded new insights and discoveries? What library holdings were/are "stored in a government warehouse" that might one day reveal as-yet-unknown knowledge and enable new inventions and innovations?

Libraries, archives, and museums are vital societal organizations for advancing and safeguarding knowledge, promoting informed citizenries, and providing access to information -- now and for generations to come.

Works of fiction, too, have long recognized the critical need and value of libraries, archives, and museums. As just one example, watch/rewatch Rogue One (2016) -- perhaps the best Star Wars movie ever (and my own favorite) -- to see [spoiler alert] how libraries/archives set the stage for eventually defeating Darth Vader and the evil Empire in later films.]

[Excerpt from Draft of King’s ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’ found at Virginia seminary archives. (June 5, 2026). Episcopal News Service.]

"Within a red binder, each of its typewritten pages encased in plastic sleeves, sits an early draft of the famous letter written by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as he was held in a jail in Birmingham, Alabama.

Ten pages that once were considered for the 1963 “Letter from Birmingham Jail” were discovered in March by a graduate student concluding an internship by examining papers donated to the African American Episcopal Historical Collection, a joint venture of the Virginia Theological Seminary and the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church.

The draft was found in the papers of Bishop John M. Burgess, the first African American to serve as an Episcopal diocesan bishop, and his wife, Esther. The papers, donated by the daughters of the couple that was active in the Civil Rights Movement, are housed at the seminary near Washington, D.C.

“I screamed, but I also wept,” said Riley Temple, the collection’s growth specialist, of seeing the letter, with its yellowed pages, for the first time.

He views it as a part of the “big year” of 1963 that featured a list of changes and challenges, including the desegregation of the University of Alabama, the March on Washington and the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham."

Celebrating World IP Day 2026: Sports, Innovation and Intellectual Property; JDSupra, April 24, 2026

 Baker,Hostetler, Jeffrey Lyons, JDSupra; Celebrating World IP Day 2026: Sports, Innovation and Intellectual Property

"Another year, another opportunity to celebrate intellectual property (IP) on World Intellectual Property Day! This year, the World Intellectual Property Organization turns the global spotlight on “IP and Sports: Ready, Set, Innovate,” highlighting how IP rights support innovation, creativity and investment in sports...

As sports continue to intersect with artificial intelligence, advanced data analytics, immersive media and global brands, IP considerations will only grow in importance. World IP Day is a reminder that innovation does not happen in isolation; it depends on legal structures that reward creativity while enabling responsible growth.

Happy World IP Day 2026!"

Trump ousts National Science Board members; The Washington Post, April 25, 2025

Carolyn Y. Johnson , The Washington Post; Trump ousts National Science Board members

"Multiple scientists who serve on an independent board established to guide the nation’s nearly $9 billion basic science funding agency were terminated from their positions Friday by President Donald Trump.

Members of the National Science Board, which helps govern the National Science Foundation, were dismissed in a message from the Presidential Personnel Office thanking them for their service, according to screenshots shared with The Washington Post: “On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I’m writing to inform you that your position as a member of the National Science Board is terminated, effective immediately.”

The National Science Board was established in 1950 to guide the governance of the National Science Foundation, in an unusual structure within the federal government that echoes the setup of a company board in the private sector. It helps guide an agency that operates Antarctic research stations, telescopes, a fleet of research vessels and supports basic science research in laboratories across the United States.

The NSF has a long history of supporting technology and research that powers many innovations the world relies on today. The agency helped language-learning app Duolingo get its start. NSF research has also helped evolve technology used in MRIs, cellphones and LASIK eye surgery.

The board’s members are scientists and engineers from universities and industry and are appointed by the president, but they serve six-year terms, ensuring overlap between different administrations. There are typically 25 members, but some slots are empty — including the NSF director, which has been vacant since the former director who was appointed during the first Trump administration, Sethuraman Panchanathan abruptly resigned a year ago."