Newsweek Int 24.12.2021

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AMERICA’S GREATEST

FIF T Y VISIONARIES, INNOVATORS
AND PIONEERS WHO ARE TRANSFORMING THE WORLD

THROUGH TECHNOLOGY

24.12.2021

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Contact us at [email protected] or scan the
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Enabling e-commerce. Delivered.

INTERNATIONAL EDITION

DECEMBER 24, 2021 _ VOL.177 _ NO.22

TECHNOLOGY 16 24 34

America’s Medical Planet Paradigm
Greatest Marvels Protectors Shifters

Disruptors Pushing the Innovators helping to People who are
technological counter climate change using technology
boundaries of and environmental to change the
health care challenges cultural conversation

Introducing Newsweek’s inaugural 20 30 38
list of 50 visionaries, innovators
Mind Hall of Artistic
and pioneers who are transforming Blowers Famers Advocates

the world through technology. Cutting-edge Visionaries whose Working to ensure
breakthroughs that career-long actions inclusion and
are just so cool or have had far- equity in the creator
out there reaching impact economy

42

Enterprising
Idealists

Using leading-edge
technology to
solve social and
community challenges

MEDICAL HELP 48
Moxi is a robot
Fun &
created to take over Gamers
many of the routine
tasks—like delivering Playful technology

lab samples and that’s pushing the edge
medicines—often
assigned to nurses, of what’s possible

freeing them to
care for patients.

52

Budding
Disruptors

Promising innovators

on the verge of

major breakthroughs

DILIGENT ROBOTICS For more headlines, go to
NEWSWEEK.COM

1

CONTENT BY THE WORLDFOLIO

Monozukuri gives Japan its competitive edge

MadeworldfamousbyToyota,mono- veneer for walls, ceilings and other we can fit their needs. Most shop- aware of his company’s responsibili-
zukuri is a concept found at the core surfaces – monozukuri is “the accu- ping is done online, and so we are ties when it comes to sustainability
of all Japanese manufacturers, from mulation of improvements in quality, thinking about making some propos- as a company engaged in plastic
those making cars to those making usage and use in the right direction, als to fit user needs,” explains com- manufacturing. “Personally, my goal
cardboard boxes. While monozukuri from the user’s point of view”. pany president, Mitsuo Nakahashi. is to ensure that the continued use of
focuses on high-quality, perfection, “Often when online shopping, you plastics does not destroy the planet
and fine attention to detail, it also “As the owner of this business, receive a huge box, but the contents and to achieve a circular economy
entails the constant pursuit of inno- I believe that we should continue of it are small, and that’s just a waste for plastic closures.”
vation guided by a response to cus- to innovate our products and our of paper. Thus, we are thinking of so-
tomer, industrial and societal needs. business without interruption,” he lutions to this problem, like using the Monozukuri can be traced back
adds. “While we continue to increase optimal amount and suitable shape centuries to the samurai sword
“After WWII, the Japanese the value of our improvements for of packaging for each delivery. Given making city of Seki, the birthplace
economy grew exponentially and the domestic market, there are not the high recycle rate of cardboard of Kai Corporation, a manufacturer
Japanese firms focused on develop- enough improvements for the global in Japan, it can be recycled even of blades and related products in
ing their monozukuri, which conse- market. We have to keep on inno- if the paper fibers become shorter the cooking, beauty, grooming, and
quently enhanced Japan’s industrial vating this company and we have and thinner. This technology will medical fields that continues to intro-
sector as a whole,” explains Akiyoshi to take on new technologies. One bring high-cost effectiveness and is ducecutting-edgeinnovation.“Crafts-
Kitamura, president of PACRAFT, a example of this is our Woodtique.” environmentally friendly, and it will people try to pay attention to clients’
renowned manufacturer of filling become an alternative to many other every request, and they manufacture
and packaging machinery. “Japanese Indeed, for those in the packag- kinds of containers. We have a 95% things according to the monozukuri
manufacturers during that period ing industry nowadays, customer recycle rate for our cardboard.” philosophy, which is based on creating
really challenged themselves. One as- demands and societal needs are very the option most tailored to custom-
pect of the Japanese population that much focused on sustainability and Innovation is also at the core of ers’ needs. We want to carry this tra-
drove this sector to what it is today environmental concerns, which has NipponClosures,a leadingmanufac- dition on,” says Kai president, Hiroaki
was the high demand of consumers guided innovation and product devel- turer of plastic and metal closures Endo. “Even when we are expanding
and the monozukuri craftsmanship opment at cardboard manufacturer for food, beverage, medical, home overseas, we try to stay true to the
required to fulfil these demands.” TOMOKU, a company developing and chemical products. “We have al- essence of Japan and Japanese cul-
packaging technology aimed at re- ways believed the essence of mono- ture. We also try to take care of the
For Takao Morizane, president of ducing waste in the fast-growing zukuri is meeting customer needs, no needs of local people in the countries
Misumaru Sangyo – a leader in in- online shopping industry. matter what,” says president Hisashi we are in; that is the core of wanting
dustrial packaging that is also behind Nakajima. Mr. Nakajima is acutely to preserve the monozukuri process.”
Woodtique, an ultra-thin real wood “One key point is how we bring
ourselves to the end user and how

Thinking outside the box to provide

high-quality recyclable packaging

As e-commerce rises and more sustainable packaging is required, TOMOKU has innovated TM450 installed in SBC, which
its manufacturing process and expanded overseas to meet growing global demand. went into operation in September
in 2021 – as well as the United
“Whenever we decide View of Vietnam factory company makes it,” says Mitsuo States, introducing its unique pro-
to set up new factories, With its unique business strategy Nakahashi, President of TOMOKU. duction technology cultivated do-
we try to step up our across three distinct business seg- “Yet at TOMOKU we are really so- mestically to global markets. This
unique processes so ments – cardboard manufacturing, phisticated with our manufacturing includes the TM450, a high-speed
we can assure our housebuilding, and logistics – TO- process that we have designed. It corrugator which can produce
productivity and quality. MOKU is a company with diverse is unique to us, and we are now corrugated sheets at 450m per
This helps us keep our operations and interests. Thinking bringing the ideas that we have minute. “We’ve already been look-
competitive edge.” outside of the box, therefore, comes developed in Japan to other parts ing into the future, including try-
naturally to the organization, par- of the world where we can manu- ing to automate while increasing
Mitsuo Nakahashi, ticularly when you consider one of facture at a reasonable cost, as well productivity and product quality,”
President & COO, its main product lines is the humble as with excellent quality.” says Mr. Nakahashi. “As a result,
Tomoku Co., Ltd. box itself; a product which has whenever we decide to set up new
engendered a surprising amount A house designed by Sweden House factories, we try to step up our
of innovation over the years. With more than 70 years manu- unique processes so we can assure
our productivity and quality. This
“The cardboard box is a product facturing in Japan, the company helps us keep our competitive edge
that, when looking at it, you can’t has expanded its production ca- and the reason why we set up all
really tell in which country in the pacity in Vietnam – where it es- the offices and channels globally.”
world it has been made, or which tablished three new product lines
www.tomoku.co.jp/english/

CONTENT BY THE WORLDFOLIO

Nippon Closures proves

there is no cap on innovation
The packaging manufacturer which specializes in closures and caps for products across the food and beverage
industries is collaborating with overseas partners to enhance innovation and break into new global markets.

“In order to produce they strive for better functions order to enhance innovative ca- An example of this is how
a product that we are and constantly develop their tech- pabilities and produce optimum Nippon Closures has adapted its
satisfied with, we keep nology to have an ideal product.” solutions. This is particularly so products to cater to changing
improving it.” when it comes to co-creation Japanese society, which today
The famous Japanese manu- amongst international partners has the oldest population in the
Hisashi Nakajima, facturing philosophy mono- who can share knowledge, tech- world with the longest average
President, zukuri has traditionally been nology, and research that enables life expectancy at 84, and more
Nippon Closures Co., Ltd. about craftsmanship quality, the respective parties to break than 33% of the population soon
When you think of a product on fine attention to detail, and the into new overseas markets. In expected to be over the age of 65.
the shelf of any super store, the kaizen philosophy. Nowadays, 2019, Nippon Closures signed a
first thing you often imagine is it is also about responding to cross-licensing agreement with “Since our establishment, we
not about the product itself – or market demands and customer the American packaging firm have been seeking ways to reduce
its core contents – but how that requests, as well as providing Aptar for the design, develop- the amount of force required to
product looks and presents itself the solutions that customers ment, and manufacture of teth- open a cap,” says Mr. Nakajima.
from the outside: its packaging. require, explains Mr. Nakajima. ered caps, for instance. “For example, the twist-off caps
Indeed, packaging is integral to a used for jams and other products,
product’s brand and how the prod- “We have always believed that “With regards to co-creation introduced from a foreign cap
uct appeals to diverse consumer the essence of monozukuri is to and collaboration with over- manufacturer, initially required a
tastes through the character, per- meet the needs of the customer, seas companies, our goal is strong force to open. As a result
sonality and functionality that it no matter what. In essence, we not necessarily to provide caps of various improvements, we’ve
provides. As it turns out, with never turn down a demand or at a lower price, nor is it to succeeded in making a cap that
a culture that places the high- request from a customer in need,” pursue cost reduction or prof- is easy for anyone to open.”
est value on beauty, quality, and he says. “We communicate care- itability,” explains the Nippon
function in the manufacturing pro- fully with our customers to find Closures president. “Rather, we In 2017, the company orga-
cess through a long tradition for out what problems they are really are thinking about how we can nized an “idea marathon” in Singa-
monozukuri (fine craftsmanship), facing. We make it a point to first take advantage of our existing pore to develop a set of caps and
the Japanese are unsurprisingly understand the customer well and technologies and match them bottles that are easy to open for
masters of packaging solutions. then consider how we can help well with overseas partners and everyone including the elderly and
“The Japanese are always this person in need when devel- overseas closure manufactur- disabled. “Through this project to
aware of their ideal world and oping our products. To achieve ers to provide highly specialized develop a product by directly ex-
strive for perfection in beauty this, we always try to be cre- caps that meet the needs of changing opinions with consum-
and function, without ever being ative, innovative and pursue the each market. An existing tech- ers and major beverage brands,
satisfied with the status quo,” most advanced technology. This nology may open a market in we realized once again the impor-
says Hisashi Nakajima, President is something that has remained some other country. Or if it can tance of open innovation through
of Nippon Closures, which de- unchanged since the inception of help solve social issues in that diversity, which led to the open-
velops, manufactures, and sells our company and we are proud country, that will be the great- ing of the FUTURE DESIGN LAB
plastic and metal closures and to say that our attitude towards est motivation for our engineers as a base for development and
caps for products across the food, ideal manufacturing has resulted and staff members, which will marketing in Singapore by Toyo
beverage, medical, sanitary, and in the trust our customers have also lead to their growth. What Seikan Group Holdings.”
chemical industries. “In order to placed in us over the years.” we pursue is not only profit but
produce a product that we are also how much value we can As a business with a firm fo-
satisfied with, we keep improving Central to this philosophy is provide to society.” cus on such Corporate Social
it. We believe that is one of the the aspect of collaboration with Responsibility (CSR), another
reasons Japanese brands have other like-minded companies in goal of Nippon Closures is to
such a good reputation, because overcome the problem of plas-
tics, says the company president.

“Personally, I have a great
dream and goal to ensure that
the continued use of plastics does
not destroy the planet and to
achieve a circular economy for
plastic closures. As a business, we
would like to contribute greatly to
the happiness of the people living
in any region, and not just pursue
profit. To this end, CSR and social
contribution are one of the main
goals of our growth strategy that
we are currently formulating.”

www.ncc-caps.co.jp/

CONTENT BY THE WORLDFOLIO

Woodtique: The wooden wallpaper that

provides a safe and comfortable living space

whilst also preserving the environment

aru, a manufacturer of industrial packaging materials, is celebrating its 50th
s year with a new business venture, Woodtique, a wallpaper and sheeting product
y the look and feel of natural wood.

of wood. In other words, it is a plied to curved surfaces and A recent trend in Japan has
technique that has been refined even sharp corners. been the use of Woodtique sheets
in the pursuit of profit, in order Another way of using Wood- in origami and lighting materials,
to produce more products from tique is to combine it with other as the company’s proprietary
less wood. Woodtique, however, materials to create new types of technology can reduce the to-
is a reversal of this idea, using as decor. For example, Woodtique tal thickness of wood sheets to
around 100 microns. At this level
Natural warm wood feelings of thinness, the wood can be
The Woodtique difference folded in any direction without
little wood as possible to make causing any cracks, making it as
as much Woodtique as possible, easy to fold origami cranes as
and protecting the environment. any other type of origami, and,
because it transmits light, it can
Woodtique wallpaper can be be used as a lighting material
“The structure of this applied in exactly the same way to create a unique atmosphere
product may look as any other wallpaper sur- where the grain of the wood and
simple, but it is the fruit face and can just as easily be the light combine.
of the Japanese spirit pasted as any other wallpaper. “Woodtique is a new material
of monozukuri.” Because it is so easily applied that will allow us to make the
both amateur and professional most efficient use of wood as we
Takao Morizane, CEO, decorators alike can handle it build a low-carbon society,” Mr.
Misumaru Sangyo Co., Ltd. allowing for a smooth installa- A unique wallcovering Morizane confidently declares.
“When I saw this product in the tion and overall cost reduction
newspaper, I knew I had to try – moreover, its compact size In addition to Woodtique, the
it. I immediately made an ap- means it requires only mini- company has introduced a
pointment with the manufactur- mal storage space. “The total digital printing machine, which
er,” recalls Mr. Takao Morizane, thickness of the panels is about is still a rarity in the industry,
CEO of the Misumaru Group, 200-280 microns, which makes and is setting up an on-demand
upon first seeing Woodtique. them very flexible and allows production system for small-lot
Mr. Morizane decided to visit them to be bent along the grain photo printing. The company is
the manufacturer of Woodtique, of the wood, something that determined to reduce its impact
which is now part of the group, cannot be achieved with normal on the environment by produc-
and was so taken with the prod- wooden panels,” Mr. Morizane Modern and trendsetting ing only what customers really
uct that he agreed to become its states. Thanks to this charac-
sole worldwide distributor the teristic, Woodtique can be ap- sheets can be attached to alu- need, in the quantities they re-
same day. minium squares to make them ally need, a system that has been
The product consists of very lighter, stronger and more du- difficult for manufacturers to
thinly sliced wood boards attached rable than the original squares. establish until now. This will be
to a specially manufactured, non- When Woodtique is applied to a combined with the company’s
combustible paper substrate. The plasterboard wall substrate, proprietary check valve
structure of this product may look or to an aluminium technology to pro-
simple, but it is the fruit of the square, it uses less duce attractive
Japanese spirit of monozukuri, wood than a normal products such
which involves a wide range of wooden board or as compression
exclusive techniques such as sur- square, but it is also bags for clothes.
face polishing, color adjustment more durable and Finally, the
and the method of attaching the has a lower total company fully
product to the substrate. cost. In addition to intends to fulfil
This product is a condensed the obvious benefits its social respon-
form of the techniques that the of using less wood, this sibility as a leader
Japanese people have been using also increases durability in the industry by
since ancient times in order to and lowers the decora- Giftmate using recycled raw
conserve wood. In Japan, wood tive expense. Even more drawstring bags materials wherever
from thinning has been used for
centuries to make chopsticks, surprisingly, Woodtique sheets are possible to reduce its environ-
boxes, etc., using every last bit ultra-thin and can be sewn. The mental impact.
company is currently developing
products such as wallets using
Woodtique sheets to take advan-
tage of this feature.
www.misumaru.co.jp

The cutting-edge blade makers CONTENT BY THE WORLDFOLIO

forging a sustainable future “We’re expanding our
A company with a growing international reach, Kai Corporation is adapting to new reach globally while
needs without losing sight of the blade-forging traditions it is rooted in. staying true to Japan’s
essence.”
Founded in 1908 in Seki, Kai er razors to be the DNA of the ing. “Beauty and grooming – ra-
Corporation is a leading Japa- company, because the founding zors and nail clippers in particular Hiroaki Endo,
nese manufacturer of blades and generations – the first, second – and kitchenware – with knives, President & COO,
related products in the cooking, and third – focused on setting peelers and scissors at the fore- Kai Corporation
beauty, grooming, and medical new milestones in developing front – are our core business-to- Kong, Vietnam, South Korea,
fields. The company boasts a this product. My generation, the consumer sectors,” Mr. Endo says. India and France, Kai continues
significant – and growing – in- fourth, obviously wants to take to grow internationally. How-
ternational presence. on new challenges when it comes While Kai initially focused on ever, although Mr. Endo sees
to this key product. That’s why, in selling kitchen knives in Japan, greater potential in its overseas
Known as the ‘city of sword- a turn-of-the-millennium boom business, he stresses that the
smiths’, Seki boasts a history Michel BRAS kitchen knives
stretching back over eight cen- the context of the push for more Shun kitchen knives Kershaw knife
turies as the home of forging sustainable business models, I firm will never lose sight of its
blades in Japan. It is, in the decided to test the Paper Razor.” Paper RazorTM roots. “Looking to Japan, as you
words of Kai president Hiroaki in western interest in the coun- know, its population is aging, so
Endo (the great-grandson of the Featuring a handle made of try’s culture and cuisine led the we obviously aren’t expecting
firm’s founder, Saijiro Endo) “one water-resistant card stock, Kai’s company to introduce its suc- an explosive market with good
of the three most important cen- groundbreaking Paper Razor cessful Shun brand of culinary growth in the future,” he says.
ters for swordsmanship in the uses 98% less plastic than be- blades for the overseas market. “But while we are expanding
world, together with Solingen fore; its metal head and blade “People wanted the right tools to our reach outside Japan, I want
in Germany and Sheffield in the are its only non-paper elements. prepare Japanese food, or wash- to make sure we never forget
United Kingdom”. “Currently, it’s being trialed in oku, which was considered cool our pride as a 100-year-old
Japan only, but there has al- and healthy,” Mr. Endo explains. Japanese company.”
Kai embraces its rich local her- ready been a lot of interest from “Up to that point, the German
itage, highlighting in its mission other countries, because people city of Solingen dominated the kai-group.com/global/en/
statement a devotion to “passing are more conscientious of en- cutlery market outside of Japan.
down the skill and spirit which vironmental issues,” Mr. Endo However, after we launched the
continue to flow in this land”. It’s says. “The next five to seven Shun brand, we became a strong
a commitment that goes hand in years is really the key period international competitor.”
hand with the company’s dedica- for us to become a sustainable
tion to monozukuri – the drive for manufacturer. Starting with the Kai is now also a manufacturer
perfection that underpins Japa- Paper Razor, we look forward of medical blades, and in 2018
nese manufacturing. “Crafts- to expanding the spectrum of expanded its domestic medical
people try to pay attention to services, business and products blade factory in Oyana, as part of
clients’ every request, and they in this area.” its efforts to expand its output in
manufacture things according the field of surgical instruments.
to the monozukuri philosophy, In the mid-20th century, Mr. “When it comes to the medical
which is based on creating the Endo’s grandfather, Saijiro Endo sector, there are good prospects
option most tailored to custom- II, added other cutting tools to in terms of the potential for profit
ers’ needs,” Mr. Endo says. “We Kai’s portfolio, such as kitchen and the high level of technology
want to carry this tradition on.” knives, scissors and nail clippers, required in manufacturing,” Mr.
with the company today boasting Endo says. “That’s why we decided
Having started out by crafting an extensive range of products for to put emphasis on the medical
pocketknives, Kai began making cooking, beauty care and groom- field when expanding our factory.”

Medical equipment factory Having so far expanded to
Japan’s first replaceable razor the US, Germany, China, Hong
blade in 1932, and later became
the first company in the world
to create a disposable razor with
three blades. “This was a huge
milestone for our company, al-
lowing it to become well-known
and increase our global pres-
ence,” Mr. Endo says. “I consid-

CONTENT BY THE WORLDFOLIO

PACRAFT’S rebrand pointing to a more sustainable future

To mark its 61st anniversary, PACRAFT has undergone a noteworthy rebrand. Formerly Toyo Jidoki, PACRAFT wanted
to integrate a new image which reflected a mindset and culture for future growth both inside and outside the company.

adds IoT systems to manage a target to be the best-known
data, to keep consistent produc- supplier of pouch packaging
tion and engineer service his- equipment worldwide, PACRAFT
tory on customer IoT systems incorporates important techno-
as well as connectivity between logical advances with an em-
the machines and the factory, so phasis on sustainability while
that data from all equipment
Pouch packaging can be compiled and that the Pack Expo
always following the company’s
“Moving forward, we see PACRAFT’s customers have site is fully connected. core mantra: the sale of a prod-
a trend of reduced plastic become familiarized with look- PACRAFT is also fully fixated uct marks the start of a long
product use worldwide ing to the company to solve on a sustainable future for every- relationship with the customer.
and using materials their problems and produce one. The company boasts pouch
that are more easily creative solutions. PACRAFT’s refills that are energy efficient https://pacraft-global.com/en
recyclable.” unmatched attention to and use a fraction of the
detail assures custom- resources required
Akiyoshi Kitamura, ers that its durable by rigid contain-
President, and high-perform- ers. PACRAFT’s
PACRAFT Co., Ltd. ing equipment can product portfolio
Since its inception in 1960, PA- be used for the and current R+D
CRAFT has strived to apply ad- maximum length reflect one of its
vanced technologies to build pouch of time. most important fo-
fill/sealing machines and automated One increasingly cuses: sustainability
systems to meet the diverse needs of more desired need for the environment.
its customers, all while never losing expressed by PA- Rebranding the
sight of one of its core philosophies: CRAFT’s range of Automation controls company has be-
once a client, always a client.
customers is IoT compatibility. come a preface for what lies
PACRAFT is therefore always ahead for this forward-thinking
happy to deliver. The company and ambitious company. With

Innovation to put smiles on faces

Tufting machine leaks of company information. customers across the globe. orcoa (PCR test device)
Behind every great smile is a As President Toshiharu Matsu- Indeed, Yamato Esulon has innovate is key to its growth,
great toothbrush, and people shita says: “Our ability to deliver expanded its production to and this is best illustrated by
from all walks of life are focus- on our promises is what builds a factory in Thailand, where its expansion into the develop-
ing on their dental hygiene more trust with our customers.” its Japanese employees work ment of a PCR test for gingivi-
than ever. Yamato Esulon offers with the local team to ensure tis. Six years of development
its partners the opportunity to This trust has enabled Yam- its high standards are main- with a specialist manufacturer
sell the most innovative dental ato Esulon to produce tooth- tained whilst adapting to the has enabled Yamato Esulon to
products with the assurances brushes for electronic giants local market. create a product which allows
and know-how that 90 years of such as Panasonic, and the dentists themselves to analyze
experience in the business brings. company is proud of its his- As a small producer, the com- their patients’ oral health in 45
tory of renewed orders from pany understands its ability to minutes, rather than sending
As an OEM, the company the samples to specialist labo-
prides itself on its ability to ratories and waiting for results.
tailor its industry-standard ma-
chinery to meet the needs of its Continuing this diversifica-
business partners, working to tion, the company is developing
strict deadlines, and preventing its unique tufting head part for
toothbrushes, making the head
extremely streamlined, which
it plans to launch as its own
product rather than as an OEM.

www.yamato-esulon.co.jp/english

*/2%$/ (',725ʝ,1ʝ&+,() _ Nancy Cooper INTERNATIONAL EDITION

'(387< (',725ʝ,1ʝ&+,() Diane Harris DECEMBER 24, 2021 _ VOL.177 _ NO.22

&5($7,9( ',5(&725 Michael Goesele This Issue Features SP CI ISSUE
Four Unique Covers: 12.24.2021
',*,7$/ ',5(&725 Laura Davis ETDHIMEESDluOIoTNsGHnAkIOOGTM:FEAALTSHE
SPECIAL ISSU
86 1(:6 ',5(&725 Juliana Pignataro 12.24.2021

0$1$*,1* (',725 Melissa Jewsbury Lizzo:
ANADBOOITUUNRRTFAONIBRSDEMFEAIOAUNRSTGMYING
23,1,21 (',725 Josh Hammer
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FIF T Y VISIONARIES, INNOVATORS FIF T Y VISIONARIES, INNOVATORS
63(&,$/ 352-(&76 (',725 Fred Guterl AND PIONEERS WHO ARE TRANSFORMING THE WORLD AND PIONEERS WHO ARE TRANSFORMING THE WORLD

EDITORIAL THROUGH TECHNOLOGY THROUGH TECHNOLOGY

Editor, Newsweek International Alex Hudson Lizzo Elon Musk
Deputy Editor, London Bureau Alfred Joyner
Associate News Director, London Marc Vargas Informing and transforming The Thomas Edison of
News Editor, London Shane Croucher our ideas about beauty. the digital age.
Senior Editors Peter Carbonara, Jenny Haward,
3+272*5$3+ %< 52%%< ./(,1 3+272*5$3+ %< (5,& 2*'(1
Kenneth R. Rosen, Meredith Wolf Schizer,
Christina Zhao SPECIAL ISSUE SPECI ISSUE
Deputy Editors Jennifer Doherty, Philip Jeffery 12.24.2021 12.24.2021
(Opinion), Matt Keeley (Night), Scott McDonald
(Sports), Kyle McGovern, Emma Nolan (Culture), Katalin ‘DBIPLGRAIOCMTATFKAGERiLAMCCItIOTcSSaNMIKThSMNt’OeTUtGPlNlTAI:HNTEDY
Hannah Osborne (Politics), Donica Phifer, CTWOHHVPBEOIOIKDSMOMSaOLAVILrODABiEGECkLCICEóTUSIH:LTNEAER
Ramsen Shamon (Opinion), AMERICA’S GREATEST
Batya Ungar-Sargon (Opinion) A M E R ICA’S G R E AT E ST
Associate Editor David Chiu FIF T Y VISIONARIES, INNOVATORS
Copy Chief James Etherington-Smith FIF T Y VISIONARIES, INNOVATORS AND PIONEERS WHO ARE TRANSFORMING THE WORLD
Deputy Copy Chief Dom Passantino AND PIONEERS WHO ARE TRANSFORMING THE WORLD
London Sub-Editor Hannah Partos THROUGH TECHNOLOGY
Asia Editor at Large Danish Manzoor THROUGH TECHNOLOGY
Contributing Editor, Opinion Lee Habeeb
Katalin Karikó Matt Mitchell
CREATIVE
Developing the tech that made Protecting the Black community
Director of Photography Lauren Joseph COVID vaccines possible. against ‘digital stop and frisk.’
Contributing Art Director Mike Bessire
Digital Imaging Specialist Katy Lyness 3+272*5$3+ %< +$11$+ <221 3+272*5$3+ %< 1,&. /((

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7

In Focus T H E N E W S I N P I C T U R E S

ANDREW HARNIK/GETTY WASHINGTON, D.C.

CAhmamerpicioann

The casket of former Senator Bob Dole lies in state in the
Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on December 9. Dole, a veteran
who was severely injured in World War II, was a Republican
senator from Kansas from 1969 to 1996. He was 98 when
he died December 5. Dole ran for president three times and
became the Republican nominee for the presidency in 1996.

ANDREW HARNIK

December 24, 2021 NeWSWeeK.cOm 9

10 N E W S W E E K . C O M In Focus

December 24, 2021

CLO CKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP/GET TY; JOHN MACD OUGALL/AFP/GET TY; JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP/GET TY

BAIKONUR, KAZAKHSTAN NEWRY, MAINE BERLIN

Space Privilege Santa Slalom Power Exchange

The Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft carrying Skiers and snowboarders head New German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, downhill in the annual Santa Ski gives flowers to his predecessor
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa and his Run on Santa Sunday at Sunday Angela Merkel after she handed
production assistant Yozo Hirano blasts off River Resort on December 5. over the office at the Chancellery
to the International Space Station from the Over 200 folks took part in in Berlin on December 8.
Russian-leased Baikonur Cosmodrome on the event that helped raise funds Members of the parliament elected
December 8. Maezawa, according to reports, for the nonprofit group, River Scholz, ushering in a new political
has also booked a spot on an Elon Musk Fund Maine, which supports era with the center-left in charge
spacecraft that could orbit the moon in 2023. young people in the area. of the German government.

→ KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV → JOSEPH PREZIOSO → JOHN MACDOUGALL

NEWSWEEK.COM 11

NASA HELICOPTER

ROBO NURSES

DEMOCRATIZING AI

BIOSYNTHETIC INDIGO

CARBON CAPTURE
BRAIN PROSTHETIC

DNA PRINTERS

12 N E W S W E E K . C O M DECEMBER 24, 2021

OPEN SOURCE GAMING
DIGITAL FASHION

AI-INFORMED FARMING

ROBOT SWARMS SAFER ELECTIONS
CROWDSOURCED DATA TECH ECOSYSTEM

SOCIAL JUSTICE

NFT MARKETPLACE INTRODUCING
CRYPTOGRAPHY TOOLS NEWSWEEK’S
INAUGURAL LIST OF

50 Visionaries,
Innovators & Pioneers

WHO ARE TRANSFORMING
THE WORLD THROUGH
TECHNOLOGY

GETTY

t first glance, Lizzo, the singer, rapper and
style icon, might not seem to have a lot in
common with Katalin Karikó, the molecular
biologist whose research on mRNA technology enabled rapid
development of the COVID-19 vaccine. Nor perhaps does Bela
Bajaria, the Netflix executive whose global content strategy
led to the streaming phenomenon Squid Game, seem naturally
connected to scientist Tammy Hsu, who is making eco-friendly
blue jeans, or engineer Amay Bandodkar, who is developing
batteries powered by human sweat. Elon Musk, the tech
entrepreneur who’s doing everything from pioneering reusable
rockets that send well-heeled tourists into space to fostering
AI enhancements to the brain, and Darnella Frazier, the young
woman who ignited a worldwide social justice movement
with her cellphone? Not what you’d call an intuitive pairing.

Yet all of these people, and the other by good intention and may, in some
43 visionaries and innovators on cases, have unanticipated negative
Newsweek’s inaugural list of Greatest repercussions, the disruptors on our
Disruptors share this critical quality: list are largely driven by a desire to
They are agents of change who are contribute to a greater good, often in-
using technology in ways that will spired by personal experience—and,
profoundly impact our lives—mostly so far at least, their work seems on a
or wholly for the better. path to fulfill that promise.

The Oxford Dictionary defines Consider neuroscientist Aadeel
“disruption” as radical change to an Akhtar, who was inspired to develop
existing industry or market due to affordable human-like bionic limbs
technological innovation. The work by seeing a little girl missing a leg us-
being done by our 50 inductees in ing a tree branch as a crutch during a
the 2021 Disruptors class certain- family trip to Pakistan when he was 7
ly fits that description. What truly years old. Or energy entrepreneur Bill
sets these pioneers apart, however, Gross, whose interest in carbon emis-
is their humanity. Whereas disrup- sions capture was sparked by memo-
tion generally, by this or any other ries of his family living through the
definition, isn’t necessarily spurred 1973 oil embargo, getting by on $5 of

14 N E W S W E E K . C O M DECEMBER 24, 2021

rationed gas every other day. Or com- Here is a partial list of the many experts who
puter scientist Rana el Kaliouby, a offered nominations or helpful insights over
pioneer in emotion AI, who was mo- the course of this project. Newsweek is grateful
tivated in her work teaching comput- for their wise counsel and our list is better for it.
ers to understand human emotion, by
her own feelings of loneliness after Ơ By 'LDQH +DUULV Scott Anthony Michael Hyter
moving from Cairo to Cambridge, Deputy Editor in Chief
Massachusetts, for her Ph.D. Or NYU and )UHG *XWHUO Senior Partner, President, CEO,
Langone surgeon Robert Montgom- Special Projects Editor Innosight The Executive
ery, whose own need for a transplant Leadership Council
due to a rare, progressive disease of Shannon Austin
the heart muscle helps inform his 6WHSKDQLH /DIɿQ
work—including his recent, first-of- Founder, Work in
its-kind transplant of a pig kidney Progress Consulting Executive Director
into a human being. of Creative Affairs
Erik Brynjolfsson for Wade Davis
In the six months that Newsweek
has been working on the Greatest Director, Stanford Joseph LeDoux
Disruptors initiative, we have contin- Digital Economy Lab;
ually been fascinated and inspired as Professor, Stanford Professor of
we learned more about the motiva- Institute for Neural Science and
tions driving truly disruptive achieve- Human-Centered AI Psychiatry at NYU
ment and the humanity behind the
razzle dazzle, sometimes sci-fi-like Joshua Gans Rita McGrath
gee-whizzery of the cutting-edge
technology. We hope you find the Professor of Professor, Columbia
stories and achievements of these 50 Strategic Management, Business School
Great Disruptors as moving and as University of Toronto
awe-inspiring as we do. Bernard Meyerson
Mark Greeven
How We Created Chief Innovation
the 2021 Disruptors List: Professor of Innovation Officer Emeritus, IBM
and Strategy,
or the initial list, Newsweek solicited nominations from International Institute Adam Piore
more than 100 experts and change makers in a variety for Management Development
RI ɿHOGV DV ZHOO DV RXU VWDII 7KH 'LVUXSWRUV UHVHDUFK Science journalist;
team, led by Newsweek 6HQLRU 5HSRUWHU .HUUL $QQH 5HQ]XOOL John Hall author, The Body Builders:
and Newsweek )HOORZ 0HJKDQ *XQQ DOVR FRPEHG UHVHDUFK Inside the Science of
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and other tech experts and organizations, to identify additional Calendar.com
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American DQG DXWKRU RI The Fate of the Species: Why the Human author of The Myth of Director, National
Race May Cause Its Own Extinction and What We Can Do About It the Nice Girl: Institute on Drug
Achieving a Career You Abuse, National
Love Without Becoming Institutes of Health
a Person You Hate
Amy Webb
Linda Hill
Founder, CEO, Future
Professor of Business Today Institute
Administration,
Harvard Business Maxwell Wessel
School
EVP and Chief Learning
Officer, SAP

NEWSWEEK.COM 15

An Affordable PUSHING THE
Bionic Hand TECHNOLOGICAL

BOUNDARIES
OF HEALTH CARE

AADEEL AKHTAR — FOUNDER AND CEO, PSYONIC

hen aadeel akhtar was ic limbs in the past could afford them.
7 years old, he met a little Medicare’s approval should ultimately
girl who changed his life. increase that to 75 percent.
His parents took him to see family
in Pakistan, where they’d been born, “We’re pushing the boundaries
and they were walking into a store of what’s possible, but also making
when he saw her. She was missing them accessible and leveling the
her right leg. “That was actually the playing field for all those people
first time I had met someone with who couldn’t get access to this kind
a limb difference,” he says. “She was of technology before,” Akhtar says.
about my age, using a tree branch as
a crutch, living in poverty.” Psyonic put its first commercial
He never learned her name, never product, called the Ability Hand, on
spoke to her or saw her again. But he the market nationally in September.
never forgot her. He got a Ph.D. in neu- In size and design, it resembles a nat-
roscience, and now, at 34, is founder ural hand, albeit with batteries and
and head of an Illinois company electronics packed inside. Akhtar says
called Psyonic. He and his team of the fingers come close to mimicking
about 30 make prosthetic limbs that the movements of human fingers, and
are smart, durable, responsive to their they give instant feedback—the limb
users’ needs and—this is key—afford- vibrates against your skin when its
able. In the U.S., Medicare says it will fingers meet resistance, signaling that
cover the cost of Psyonic’s prosthetics, if you’re gripping something delicate
and Akhtar says other insurers will (say, an egg or your child’s hand) you
probably follow. It’s estimated that at should stop squeezing. Electrodes in
least 1.6 million Americans live with the base of the hand sense when you
the loss of a limb, and Akhtar says only tighten existing muscles and use those
10 percent of those who needed bion- signals to make the fingers move.

Akhtar gathered input from mili-
tary veterans who tried out prototypes;

16 N E W S W E E K . C O M DECEMBER 24, 2021

SKOT WIEDMANN other testers had lost limbs in acci-
dents or to disease. “They were using
technology that hadn’t changed in,
like, several decades. And we wanted
to upgrade them to the 21st-century,”
he says. He’s worked for years with
Dan St. Pierre, a commercial diver
who lost his left hand in 2009. In a
video, St. Pierre, wearing the Ability
Hand, catches a water bottle tossed
his way. Akhtar also arm wrestles him,
and, of course, loses.

“I spent many years trying to find a
good prosthetic that worked and did
what I needed it to do, and I couldn’t
find it,” says St. Pierre.

Other prosthetics on the market
tend to be either rudimentary (a hook)
or expensive (up to $70,000). Akhtar
says the Ability Hand costs clinicians
$10,000 to $20,000, depending on the
user’s needs. The Psyonic team saved
money by making molds for parts with
3D printing. While much of the hand is
made from carbon fiber, many parts are
silicone or rubber, materials which are
both cheap and flexible. Users had com-
plained that earlier prostheses, made
of hard molded plastics, easily broke.

Eventually Akhtar would like to
make prosthetic legs and expand over-
seas. He says he can imagine, someday,
a surgically attached prosthetic—no
batteries needed because movements
would be controlled by the user’s
tendons. But for now, he says he’s en-
abling one person at a time.

“Our veterans, they’ve gone through
hell,” he says. “And to be able to give
them something back—that’s been
incredibly rewarding.” —ned potter

“We wanted to upgrade
[military veterans]
to the 21st-century.”

NEWSWEEK.COM 17

SYNTHETIC A Dissolvable & / 2 & . : , 6 ( ) 5 2 0 7 2 3 7 : , 6 7 % , 2 6 & , ( 1 & ( & + 5 , 6 6 7 5 2 1 * ʔ 1 2 5 7 + : ( 6 7 ( 5 1 8 1 , 9 ( 5 6 , 7 < , / / 8 6 7 5 $7 , 2 1 % < $ / ( ; ) , 1 ( 6 2 8 5 & ( 3 + 2 7 2 6 & 2 8 5 7 ( 6 < 2 ) ' 5 2 3 / ( 7 7 (
DNA AT Pacemaker

COMMERCIAL JOHN A. ROGERS — DIRECTOR,
SCALE QUERREY SIMPSON INSTITUTE
FOR BIOELECTRONICS,
EMILY LEPROUST — CO-FOUNDER, CEO, TWIST BIOSCIENCE NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

aking dna from scratch is typically expensive, prone to error For patients who need temporary
and not easily scalable. Twist has found a way to help automate and help regulating their heartbeat,
commercialize the process by creating a technology for writing synthetic such as those who’ve had open-
DNA onto tiny silicon chips, which can be manufactured cheaply and easily heart surgery, a heart attack or a
distributed to pharmaceutical companies and research labs. The technology drug overdose, Rogers and his team
has already had a big impact on public health: During the COVID-19 pan- created a new kind of implantable
demic, Twist created a synthetic version of SARS-CoV-2 that was used in tests. pacemaker—wireless, battery-free
Eventually, their synthetic DNA could also help identify specific cancers for and, best of all, dissolvable. After
targeted treatments and lead to ways of making spider silk at an industrial five to seven weeks, the pacemaker,
scale. This year, Twist launched Exome 2.0, a tool for bioscientists to analyze made of natural materials like sili-
genes responsible for rare diseases and genetic disorders. —m.g. cone and magnesium, is absorbed
by the body. Since patients don’t re-
Medicine Delivered By Mist quire surgery to remove the device,
they avoid the attendant risks of
MADHAVI GAVINI, RATHI SRINIVAS — CO-FOUNDERS, DROPLETTE infection, tissue damage and blood
clots. Rogers’ device gets its ener-
For people who suffer from epider- funding from the National Institutes gy wirelessly from a small device
molysis bullosa, disorders that cause of Health, the two inventors decided placed on the chest.
the skin to become fragile and blister, to broaden its applicability to more
applying topical treatments is a painful common skincare concerns, such as The pacemaker is the second bio-
ordeal. Madhavi Gavini and Rathi Sri- treating wrinkles and blemishes with degradable implant for Rogers—the
nivas looked for a better way to deliver retinal, collagen and glycolic acid mist first, developed in 2018, speeds the
medical help. Their solution: a hand- treatments. The pair say their device al- regeneration of damaged nerve tis-
held device that acts like a nebulizer lows the skin to absorb larger molecules sue. Although both devices need fur-
and can deliver treatments and pain than are typical in topical treatments. ther development and testing before
UHOLHYHUV YLD D VXSHUɿQH DQG SRZHUIXO they can become commercial prod-
mist that penetrates deep into the skin. The approach has garnered glowing ucts, Rogers is confident that biode-
While developing the technology, with reviews in InStyle, Laptop Mag and gradable electronics have a future in
other publications. More than 1 million medical devices to monitor and treat
of its skincare treatment capsules been a range of conditions. —K.R.
sold since it launched a year ago. The
pair is also working with researchers
from MIT, Tufts and Walter Reed Army
Institute of Research on developing the
device, called Droplette, for a variety
of diseases including genetic disorders,
wounds and skin infections. NASA,
too, has come calling, awarding them
a grant to test aspects of their tech on
the International Space Station. “They
ZHUH IDVFLQDWHG E\ WKH ʀXLG SK\VLFV WKDW
drives our device,” says Srinivas. —K.R.

18 N E W S W E E K . C O M

COMMUNICATING MEDICAL MARVELS
BY THINKING, NOT TALKING
Robot Medical
THOMAS OXLEY — CEO, SYNCHRON Assistants

n his practice as an interventional neurologist, Dr. Oxley has ANDREA THOMAZ, VIVIAN CHU
treated paralyzed stroke patients who were unable to commu- CO-FOUNDERS, DILIGENT ROBOTICS
nicate with loved ones and carers. A few years ago, he began working
on the idea of bypassing speech and connecting his patients’ brains To increase the amount of time nurses
directly to a computer, so they could communicate merely by think- and other medical staff have for patient
ing. As founding CEO of Synchron, he helped develop a tiny device, care, Andrea Thomaz and Vivian Chu
called a Stentrode, that a surgeon snakes into the brain through designed a robot, called Moxi, to tackle
the blood vessels, where it acts as a brain-computer interface. menial tasks—such as delivering person-
Last year, two paralyzed patients in Australia used Stentrode al protective equipment and medicines,
implants to text and type words just by thinking about them. The carrying tests or lab samples, and picking
implant converts signals from the patient’s neurons into com- up or dropping off items to patients—
mands, which are beamed wirelessly to a computer. The surgical which can consume 30 percent of a shift.
procedure takes two hours and involves no cutting of the skull or
sewing wires onto the brain’s surface. In July, Synchron got the The idea proved critical during the
green light from the FDA to start clinical trials. If all goes well, Syn- pandemic, when staff were overwhelmed
chron’s technology could help patients with neurological damage with patients and had to impose pro-
and paralysis communicate with family, share business ideas with tocols to lessen transmission risk. In a
colleagues, pay their bills—in short, to reclaim their lives. —m.g. single shift, Moxi can complete as many
as 75 different 10-minute tasks in a shift,
DECEMBER 24, 2021 freeing hours of nursing staff time to care
for patients. Moxi is already used in sev-
eral Texas health care systems, recently
launched at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles,
and is currently integrating into a half
dozen other health care systems. “Instead
of having robots that take jobs away
from humans,” says Chu, “we wanted to
create robots that eased the stress and
workload of one of the most demanding
jobs in society, nursing.” —K.R.

) 5 2 0 72 3 , / / 8 6 7 5 $7 , 2 1 %< % 5 , 7 7 6 3 ( 1 & ( 5 ' , / , * ( 1 7 5 2 % 27 , & 6

A Membrane That Sucks
Impurities FromWater

RODNEY PRIESTLEY, XIAOHUI XU
PROFESSOR, POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER,

PRINCETON UNIVERSIT

ore than 800 million water, requires no additional energy
people worldwide lack ac- source beyond sunshine and is poten-
cess to safe drinking water. tially cheap to manufacture.
Over half the U.S. population drinks
from water with detectable lead levels, The two engineers stumbled on
studies suggest. And even as the pan- their new approach while working on
demic reminded us of the importance a project to make artificial skin to help
of frequent handwashing with soap heal wounds. Skin typically acts as a
and water, three in 10 people around selective shield—keeping pathogens
the globe can’t do that in their own out of the body, while still permitting
homes. The World Health Organi- water to pass through it. To make ar-
zation and UNICEF warn that these tificial skin, they created a hydrogel
numbers are likely to get worse in the (a complex polymer that will not dis-
next decade unless societies create solve in water) with a molecular struc-
and improve water infrastructure—a ture that would permit the passage of
vast and expensive proposition. water and block contaminants.
A new tool for meeting this chal-
lenge has emerged from the labora- As they developed and tested this
tory of Princeton University chemical material, Xu realized the hydrogel
engineers Rodney Priestley and Xiao- might potentially have another ap-
hui Xu. They have created a material plication: water purification. That
that removes impurities in drinking spurred a new project, in which the
two researchers modified their hy-
drogel in a few key ways so it would

TTING-EDGE
BREAKTHROUGHS

JUST SO COOL
OR OUT THERE

20 N E W S W E E K . C O M DECEMBER 24, 2021

ILLUSTRATION BY BRIT T SPENCER; SOURCE PHOTO OF XU BY LINGZHI CAI; PRIESTLEY BY DAVID KELLY CROW t only filter impurities, but actively “We just lead and nitrates from agricultural run-
aw water in as wel realized there off. “It effectively just sucks in all of the
was a huge pure water while leaving out all of the
des ned their hydrogel so opportunity in contaminants,” Priestley explains.
that it acts as a heat-sensitive sponge. this space to
At room temperature, compounds in try and do this Priestley and Xu’s invention has
the hydrogel attract water molecules. in a sustainable many advantages over water purifica-
When heated, the molecular struc- manner.” tion systems already in use by NGOs. It
ture changes and the gel releases needs no power source—no electricity
water. “Inside it is highly porous so it e material will shrink [and] all o to run a pump—other than sunshine,
can store the water,” explains Xiaohui e water inside will be released.” which makes it easier to deploy. And
Xu. “When you heat it, the volume of Then they covered the layer of the membrane is potentially cheaper
spongy to produce than conventional filters
mer that acts as a filter. As the sponge and can be manufactured without us-
draws in the water, the outer layer ing harsh chemical solvents. “We just
keeps impurities from entering. These realized there was a huge opportunity
layers sandwiched together form a thin, in this space to try and do this in a sus-
sheetlike “membrane.” In their testing tainable manner,” Priestley says.
to date, they’ve found the combined
layers can block problem particles like Michael Brown, CEO of AquaPao,
the company developing and com-
mercializing this technology, notes
that the material can be used not
only for filtering water but for col-
lecting drinkable water from the at-
mosphere. “If you put the membrane
outside, it will start attracting water
at a pretty significant rate,” he notes.

Before the invention is ready for
prime time, Priestley and Xu still
need to investigate how durable the
membrane is. And like other water
filters and purifiers, it’s not 100 per-
cent effective at removing all contam-
inants—it’s unlikely, for instance, to
provide an efficient solution for de-
salinating salt water.

Still, Priestley adds, having a sys-
tem that treats water for many dif-
ferent types of impurities could put
their material ahead of many other
approaches: “We have shown the abil-
ity to purify many different types of
impurities—heavy metals like lead,
small molecules, organic matter like
microbes and yeast and oil contami-
nants. If it turns out that it’s a mem-
brane that can really purify 20 differ-
ent impurities as opposed to just one
targeted impurity, I think that would
also set it apart.” —daisy yuhas

NEWSWEEK.COM 21

Pig Kidney Transplants FIRST HELICOPTER
for Humans FLIGHT ON MARS

ROBERT MONTGOMERY MIMI AUNG — FORMER PROJECT MANAGER, NASA’S JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
DIRECTOR, NYU LANGONE
TRANSPLANT INSTITUTE iMi Aung has had a very good year. On April 19, the six-year
project she led to get a helicopter to fly in the thin atmo-
Three years ago, doctors told Dr. sphere of Mars finally reached fruition: The extraterrestrial air-
Montgomery, who has a rare, progres- craft Ingenuity took off from the planet’s surface for a 39-second
sive disease of the heart muscle, that flight. It has since made 15 more trips to gather data and photos
he needed a transplant. He joined and help guide the Perseverance rover.
more than 106,800 Americans in This first-of-a-kind venture had many challenges to over-
organ-transplant purgatory, waiting come: the thinness of the planet’s atmosphere, which is less
for a donor organ—a wait 17 people than one percent the density of Earth’s, the intense cold of Mars
fail to outlast each day. “This paradigm and the seven-month voyage through space to get there. Also,
just isn’t working,” he says. “We need a the communications delay between Earth and Mars meant that
renewable, unlimited source of organs.” the helicopter largely had to pilot itself. Aung recently moved
on to a new challenge: building a network of satellites for
Dr. Montgomery has devoted much broadband internet connection in her new job at Amazon’s
of his 20-plus years as a transplant Project Kuiper. Her former team of engineers and scientists
surgeon to that end. He pioneered the at NASA will carry on creating Ingenuity’s successors—larger
use of organs from donors infected aircraft capable of carrying rock samples. —k.r.
ZLWK KHSDWLWLV & DQG SHUIRUPHG WKH ɿUVW
“domino paired donation,” which com- DECEMBER 24, 2021
bines two or more donors and recipients
in a kidney swap. In September, he and
his team succeeded in transplanting a
genetically-engineered pig kidney into
a human body (since it was a test case,
the recipient was a patient who had
lost brain function). The body did not
reject the kidney, and over a 54-hour
test run, the pig organ performed like
a normal human kidney. He expects
a similar procedure to be performed
on a live patient in the next year or so.
Montgonery is optimistic that within
a decade, pig organs will be a viable
option for those on dialysis or in need
of a kidney transplant—and eventually
hearts, lungs and other organs. —K.R.

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MIND BLOWERS

Biologically-Inspired
Robot Swarms

RADHIKA NAGPAL — COMPUTER SCIENTIST, WYSS INSTITUTE FOR
BIOLOGICALLY INSPIRED ENGINEERING AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY

f harvard researcher and education. In 2021, her lab built DNA Printers to Spur
Radhika Nagpal has her underwater robots, the BlueSwarm, Vaccine Development
way, thousands of tiny ro- that act like a school of fish, complete
bots will soon work together clean- with intricate migration patterns and DANIEL GIBSON
ing up chemical spills, building dams predator-evasion tactics, for monitor- CO-FOUNDER, CTO, CODEX DNA
and inspecting bridges. “We are really ing damage to coral reefs. Because
on the cusp of a revolution in robot- there’s no WiFi or GPS underwater, A few years ago, as scientists availed
ics,” she says. these deep-sea explorers mimic the themselves of then-new technology for
Nagpal and her team create ro- bioluminescence of living sea crea- deciphering the genetic code of viruses,
bots that mimic real-life organisms, tures to communicate with one an- Gibson turned his attention to the
self-organizing and collaborating to other. The next commercial project, opposite activity: how to take that code
complete complex tasks beyond what Nagpal thinks, will be aerial swarms and turn it into an actual virus, the better
any individual robot can do. Their that can inspect crops and deliver to study it and come up with vaccines. At
role, as she sees it, is to free up hu- packages. When the military adopts the time, scientists had to order short se-
mans from “the 3Ds:” tasks that are swarm technology, it could change TXHQFHV RI '1$ IURP VSHFLDOW\ ɿUPV DQG
dirty, dull or dangerous. the nature of conflict. “As we go for- stitch them together to form long ones.
Her team’s first project was in- ward into the future and these sys- Gibson’s idea was to make that process
spired by termites. A thousand-robot tems are deployed,” she says, “we are quicker, easier and cheaper by automat-
army, the Kilobots, are now being used going to learn lots of new lessons of ing it with so-called DNA printers.
in labs around the world for research what that means.” —meghan gunn
Gibson’s BioXp 3250, a 2-by-2-foot
, / / 8 6 7 5 $7 , 2 1 % < $ / ( ; ) , 1 ( ( / , = $ * 5 , 1 1 ( / / ʔ + $ 5 9$ 5 ' 6 ( $ 6 device, gives scientists the means to
synthesize genes in the lab in eight
hours, helping speed the design and
fabrication of new vaccine candidates
and other biological products. Last year,
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its COVID-19 vaccine. Today, Codex
DNA, where Gibson is chief technolo-
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the printers. Together with academic
research institutions and biopharma
companies, Gibson is working on
vaccines, precision immunotherapy
for cancer, meat substitutes and other
projects. His next goal is to build a
vaccine printer “capable of synthesizing
and delivering vaccines globally at the
push of a button,” he says. “This would
enable a future where we stamp out
viral outbreaks in real time, at a regional
level, before they ever reach pandemic
status.” ʡ.(55, $11( 5(1=8//,

NEWSWEEK.COM 23

“The most critical tool for success in GABRIELA CELESTE/GRO INTELLIGENCE
the [food] industry—data and knowledge—

is becoming cheaper by the day.”

INNOVATORS
HELPING TO
COUNTER CLIMATE
CHANGE AND OTHER
ENVIRONMENTAL
CHALLENGES

AI and Big Data to infestation in East Africa in 2020 and
Help Feed the World global inflation in food prices—wors-
ened in the short term by COVID and
SARA MENKER — FOUNDER, CEO, GRO INTELLIGENCE long term by climate disruption.

y 2050, the united na- Gro says it tracks 650 trillion data “It’s not something that’s going to go
tions says, we’re going to points daily—from sources such as away soon,” says Menker. “It’s basical-
need 70 percent more food government and local food reports, ly driven both by supply and demand
to feed the nine billion people living satellite imagery, long-term weather shocks continuously happening.”
on Earth. Global climate change threat- forecasts and greenhouse gas mea-
ens to upend their lives—worsening surements—and creates computer She was born in Ethiopia, came
storms, droughts, heat waves and crop models so that clients, such as Unile- to the U.S. for college and business
diseases. What kind of a world will we ver and Yum! Brands, can know how school and was working as a commod-
leave to our grandchildren? prices are likely to trend, anticipate ities trader at Morgan Stanley when
Sara Menker says the problem may surpluses and shortages, and be more she saw the chaos in food markets. She
be even more urgent than the U.N. resilient when climate change makes started Gro in 2014. “What alarmed
suggests. In 2017, she gave a TED talk food supplies harder to predict. me,” she says, “was there was a lot of
in which she said a “tipping point,” conversation about food security and
beyond which global food markets be- A type of artificial intelligence a lot of people trying to fix a system
come too overwhelmed to function ef- known as machine learning is key that we didn’t understand.”
fectively, could come in just a few years. to crunching the numbers because,
“We discovered that the world will be as Allison Tepley of Gro’s staff put it, History is filled, of course, with
short 214 trillion calories by 2027,” she “The best information is often local predictions of disaster that never
said. Or, in more familiar terms: “A sin- information, but it’s often in local happened. And Menker says there are
gle Big Mac has 563 calories. That means languages, in different formats and many things the world can do now.
the world will be short 379 billion Big it all needs to be put together.” America and Europe, for instance,
Macs in 2027. That is more Big Macs enjoyed a so-called green revolution
than McDonald’s has ever produced.” This is a larger compilation of in the last century—doubling or tri-
Menker cannot change the world food-supply data than decision-makers pling food output because of new
alone. But the firm she started, Gro can find elsewhere. Gro tracks 1,000 crops and farming methods. India
Intelligence, is providing informa- different crops; the U.S. Agriculture De- has had one, too. No countries in Af-
tion that food companies, insurers, partment tracks about 50. The level of rica have yet, but they still can.
lenders and policymakers use to detail, says the firm, is essential to catch
make food production more efficient, trouble quickly and help producers Part of the answer, she says, is in
and perhaps help protect against that take action to protect the food supply. adopting many of the commercial
tipping point. practices that have worked in the
Gro has sounded alerts on African wealthier countries—more efficient
swine fever in China (which cut pork markets, better transportation and
production 30 percent in 2018), locust changes in farming that will both
increase the food supply and pro-
tect the environment. And her own
work shows, she says, that “the most
critical tool for success in the [food]
industry—data and knowledge—is
becoming cheaper by the day.” —n.p.

DECEMBER 24, 2021 NEWSWEEK.COM 25

An Eco-Friendly PLANET PROTECTORS
Alternative to Plastic
MAKING BLUE
TROY SWOPE AND YOKE CHUNG JEANS LESS TOXIC
FOUNDERS, FOOTPRINT
TAMMY HSU — CO-FOUNDER, CHIEF SCIENTIFIC OFFICER, HUUE
Working as Intel engineers early in
their career, Swope and Chung made iller-looking jeans, unfortunately, also contribute to killing the
a shocking discovery while testing planet. Chemicals such as formaldehyde and cyanide that are
plastic-wrapped supermarket foods used to make the indigo dye that gives denim its distinctive color
for contamination. “No food was left are often toxic to workers and destructive to local water sources.
untouched by plastic chemicals leaching Hsu and her team created an eco-friendly, worker-safe bio-
into it,” Chung says. Every year in the engineered alternative by programming microbes to mimic the
U.S., 150 million tons of single-use way color compounds occur in nature, using sugar to enzymat-
plastic are used in consumer goods like ically produce the same blue shade as indigo. Huue’s dye can be
disposable cutlery and containers. Along manufactured in existing factories, making it easily adoptable
with the harmful health risks, less than 9 within the industry. This fall, Huue partnered with biotech com-
percent of this material gets recycled; the pany Ginkgo Bioworks to ramp up production and plans to begin
UHVW JRHV WR ODQGɿOOV RU LV LQFLQHUDWHG UH- shipping dye to designers early next year. —m.g.
leasing toxic fumes into the environment.
FROM LEFT: COURTESY OF FO OTPRINT; COURTESY OF GO OD NATURE
Swope and Chung’s solution: Create
plant-based biodegradable, com-
postable and recyclable alternatives
to single-use plastic. Their company
Footprint, founded in 2014, has already
eliminated more than 60 million pounds
of plastic through partnerships with
mega food retailers like Costco, Whole
Foods, Trader Joe’s, Sweetgreen, Mc-
Donald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts, which use
its plates, bowls, packaging and related
products. Now the founders are taking
their bid to save the planet to the next
level with a partnership with the NBA’s
Phoenix Suns, aiming to make its arena—
renamed the Footprint Center this year—
into an innovation lab for sustainability
that can be replicated in sports venues
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As of October, Suns fans are getting their
burgers and beer served up in Foot-
print’s plant-based cups and containers,
along with educational messages and
advice about sustainability. —M.G.

26 N E W S W E E K . C O M

COURTESY OF BILL GROSS Reducing CO2 Via of rationed gasoline every other day. stores energy in 35-ton blocks that
Alternative Energy “That had a huge impact on me,” he says. are stacked in a tower; the blocks
are made of dirt and waste materials,
BILL GROSS — FOUNDER, HELIOGEN; Gross has devoted his career to rendering it safer, cheaper and lon-
CO-FOUNDER, ENERGY VAULT, CARBON CAPTURE developing technology to solve en- ger-lasting than other energy storage
ergy challenges. His company Helio- systems. As Bernard Meyerson, chief
ross is a triple-threat, gen harnesses the sun’s power using innovation officer at IBM notes,
with not one but three sep- mirrors so precisely positioned via “There is no carbon footprint to speak
arate ventures devoted to software that they produce thermal of and the technology is based on ab-
reducing carbon emissions through energy up to 1,000 degrees Celsius— surdly simple science with some very
the use of alternative energy. It’s been nearly twice as much as other sys- cool engineering thrown in.”
a lifelong interest dating back to 1973, tems. That’s hot enough for industrial
when he was a teenager in Southern use, like steel and cement production, Lastly, Gross’ Carbon Capture
California during the oil embargo and whose high heat demands currently makes machines that remove CO2
his family could only buy $5 worth account for about a tenth of global from the atmosphere using Direct
greenhouse gas emissions (more than Air Capture tech. Gross says: “I would
all cars and planes combined). like my collection of companies to
someday combine to be the largest
Meanwhile, Gross’ startup Energy CO2 ‘avoider’ in history.” —K.R., M.G.
Vault successfully built a system that

December 24, 2021 NEWSWEEK.COM 27

AN APP TO
REPLENISH FORESTS

DAVID ‘EZRA’ JAY — CO-FOUNDER,EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GREENSTAND

Better Farming avid ‘ezra’ jay is working Planters submit geotagged photos
Through AI to combat deforestation of their trees periodically, the app cal-
one tree at a time—collec- culates a value for the ecological im-
RANVEER CHANDRA — CTO, AGRI- tively, he’s surpassed 750,000 trees pact based on the tree’s location and
FOOD; MANAGING DIRECTOR, RE- planted so far. He’s also committed to rate of growth, then packages the data
SEARCH FOR INDUSTRY,MICROSOFT trying to alleviate global poverty. The in a digital wallet the growers can ac-
app Treetracker, an open-source, da- cess and trade. For poverty-stricken
Can the WiFi chip in your phone help ta-driven software platform developed farmers in areas like sub-Saharan Af-
feed the world? That’s the question Bill by Jay and his team via Greenstand, rica and South Asia, the process pro-
Gates posed about FarmBeats, part the nonprofit he heads, attepts to ac- vides income and a way to earn their
RI 0LFURVRIWŠV ɿUVW $J7HFK LQLWLDWLYH complish both goals by verifying and livelihood by restocking forests rather
led by Chandra. FarmBeats aims to monitoring farmers around the world than clearing them for crops. Today,
UHSODFH WKH HGXFDWHG JXHVVZRUN LQ who plant and care for trees, then fa- the app is used by more than 4,700
IDUPLQJŜVD\ IHHOLQJ RU WDVWLQJ WKH VRLO cilitating payments to these growers growers worldwide and has the back-
to determine when to plant, water and from donations by partnering groups. ing of the World Bank. —k.r.
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28 N E W S W E E K . C O M

Making Eggs PLANET PROTECTORS
Without the Chicken
Tech Help for
ARTURO ELIZONDO — FOUNDER AND CEO, THE EVERY COMPANY Food Insecurity

inety-nine percent of farmed animals in the U.S. are raised DAVID HUGHES
on factory farms—and most never see the sun or walk on FOUNDER, PLANTVILLAGE
grass. As a young intern at the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Elizondo learned that more than one million animals are slaugh- Penn State entomologist David Hughes
tered per hour at USDA facilities, and that animal agriculture originally started PlantVillage as a side
is the number one contributor to deforestation and species ex- hustle to his main work researching ant
tinction. “I knew there had to be a way to make protein without fungus (his early Twitter handle: “@
destroying the planet in the process,” he says. ZombieAntGuy”). But the initiative,
After more than six years of research, the startup he founded which leverages AI, mobile phones,
to devise a solution is finally coming out of its shell: This October, drones, satellites and nanotechnology
The EVERY Company launched the first animal-free egg protein, to help small farmers combat plant
made by infusing a 3D-printed DNA sequence of chicken egg pro- diseases that threaten their crops,
tein into yeast and then fermenting it, similar to the way brewers has since become his main gig—and
make beer. The end result is a protein that food and beverage mak- passion. The greater goal: to help end
ers can add to their products for nutrition, without the obvious global food insecurity, which has 41
taste of traditional alternate proteins. The process doesn’t require million people on the brink of famine,
animals and uses less water, land and energy than factory farms according to the World Food Program.
do. Says Elizondo: “The only way to truly transform our food
system was to meet people egg-xactly where they’re at.” —m.g. Among PlantVillage’s innovations:
a U.N.-backed app Nuru (Swahili for
light) that uses AI to help farmers,
mostly in Africa, diagnose, treat and
track plant diseases. Last year, when
historic swarms of locusts posed a major
risk to crops in Kenya, Ethiopia and
other countries, Hughes’ team quickly
created another app, eLocust3M, to
track and forecast the insects’ move-
ment, helping save food for 40 million
people. According to users, Hughes says,
the two apps together have increased
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Even bigger initiatives lie ahead. At the
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the U.S. Agency for International Devel-
opment awarded $39 million to establish
the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for
Current and Emerging Threats to Crops
at Penn State—to be led by Hughes
and powered by PlantVillage. —K.R.

FROM TOP: TRI NGUYEN; COURTESY OF DAVID HUGHES

NEWSWEEK.COM 29

VISIONARIES
WHOSE

CAREER-LONG
ACTIONS HAVE HAD

FAR-REACHING
IMPACT

Developing
the Tech that Made
covid Vaccines Possible

KATALIN KARIKÓ
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, BIONTECH
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR OF NEUROSURGERY,

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

atalin karikó admits something,” she says now. “I hoped + $ 1 1 $ + <2 2 1 ʔ % /2 2 0 % ( 5 * ʔ* ( 7 7 <
that at the beginning of that maybe I would live long enough
2020, when word began to to see one person who would benefit.”
spread of a novel virus called COVID-19,
she really didn’t think it would turn It has not been an easy path. Born
into a pandemic. She was as surprised and educated in Hungary, she came
as anyone. But there was one differ- with her husband and daughter to Phil-
ence: She was ready. She’d been getting adelphia in 1985, hoping to work her
ready, in a sense, for almost 40 years. way up as a research scientist studying
Karikó, a molecular biologist, mRNA at Temple University. But what
had been working since her student was the stuff good for? Stroke patients?
days on messenger RNA—mRNA for Cancers? Cystic fibrosis? Diabetes? All
short—a compound in living cells of these and more, at least in theory, but
that carries genetic instructions for mRNA was stubbornly difficult to work
making proteins for all sorts of pur- with, and early experiments failed. So
poses. It has turned out to be the key grant money was hard to come by,
ingredient in the COVID-19 vaccines and without funding, the American
jointly made by Pfizer and BioNTech, system is unforgiving to young Ph.Ds.
and by their competitor Moderna. In a few years she moved to the Uni-
“I thought this would be good for versity of Pennsylvania, where she
bounced from lab to lab, once tak-

30 N E W S W E E K . C O M

ing a demotion when more senior with mRNA might be helpful. They found a way to modify it so that it
scientists couldn’t afford to keep her. began to work together. wouldn’t—a critical advance in mak-
ing mRNA vaccines possible. The med-
Then, in 1998, waiting to use a copy- One of the difficulties with mRNA ical world paid little attention at the
ing machine, she got to talking with was that while it can get a cell to time, but by 2013 she got a job offer
Dr. Drew Weissman, an immunologist make all sorts of proteins, it can also from BioNTech, then a small German
who was trying to develop a vaccine provoke a strong inflammatory reac- startup. They began to produce mRNA
for HIV, and thought her experience tion. In 2005, Karikó and Weissman vaccines. When COVID-19 appeared
and its genetic code was deciphered,
Karikó’s colleagues were able to de-
velop the chemistry for a shot in less
than a day.

“By that time, we knew,” says Karikó.
There still needed to be clinical trials
in the U.S. and other countries, but
the science behind mRNA vaccines
had been established. “No matter
what vaccination we did—influenza,
herpes, HIV—mRNA was so much
better than anything available.”

Now, with more than 200 mil-
lion Americans vaccinated against
COVID-19, Karikó’s life is a succes-
sion of award ceremonies, honorary
lectures and declarations that she
“saved the world.” After all those years
of struggle, she is the toast of the sci-
entific universe. She admits that she’s
gotten choked up a few times at peo-
ple’s gratitude, but she fends off any
suggestion that she’s a hero. Rather,
she wishes there had never been a
pandemic to make her look like one.

“I always think that the people who
are the health care workers, who were
taking care of the patients—they
were risking their lives every day,” she
says. “Me? I was not a hero. I never
risked my life. I went to the lab.” —N.P.

“I thought this would be good
for something. I hoped that maybe
I would live long enough to
see one person who would benefit.”

NEWSWEEK.COM 31

Altering DNA M A
to Cure Disease OF THE T

JENNIFER DOUDNA — CO-FOUNDER, ELON MUSK — FOUNDER, TESLA, SPACEX
INTELLIA THERAPEUTICS
here are at least two faces of Musk. One is the headline-grab-
In defending themselves against attack- bing rebel-without-cause whose tasteless joke-tweets have
ing viruses, bacteria use a naturally-oc- drawn the ire of financial regulators, goaded Senator Bernie Sanders
curring technique of slicing up a virus’ about tax policy (“I keep forgetting you’re still alive”) and compared
genetic material and pasting it into their outgoing Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to a victim of a Stalinist purge.
own. Jennifer Doudna, a professor at All that noise obscures the other side of Musk—the one who is
the University of California, Berkeley arguably the most prolific and disruptive technologist of the 21st
and co-founder of the biotechnology century. At 50, Musk has racked up an impressive string of firsts or
ɿUP ,QWHOOLD IRXQG VKH FRXOG PLPLF WKLV near-firsts. He’s had a hand in building a pioneering digital payment
technique to edit the DNA of humans— system (PayPal), a reusable rocket (SpaceX) that carries astronauts
adding, deleting or replacing new and supplies for NASA and tourists, and a car company (Tesla) that
genetic instructions for human cells. This has played an outsized role in bringing electric vehicles and battery
method of gene-editing, known as CRIS- technology for renewable energy into the mainstream. Even bolder
PR, has proven to be faster, cheaper and ventures are in progress: artificial-intelligence enhancements to the
more accurate than other approaches. It human brain (Neuralink) and high-speed mass-transit tunnels for
has already shaken up the world of life large cities (The Boring Company and Hyperloop). And he wants to
sciences, leading to new treatments for send people to Mars.
genetic diseases such as sickle cell ane- Musk draws comparisons to Thomas Edison, who had a sim-
mia and some eye and liver diseases. ilarly broad impact and difficult personality. Whereas Edison
was by nature an inventor, Musk is more of an impresario, as-
For this work, Doudna and fellow sembling the technical, business and investing talent he needs
researcher Emmanuelle Charpentier in service of a grand engineer’s vision. —f.g.
received the Nobel Prize in chemistry
last year. This summer, CRISPR was
used to treat a rare disease directly
through an intravenous infusion, rather
than having to remove cells, manipulate
them and reintroduce them to the body,
as current methods required. “It’s a
clear indication that a new era of genetic
medicine is now upon us,” says Doudna.
“I’m hopeful that over the next few years,
these results can be replicated to other
target disease areas and organs such
as the brain and heart, where molecular
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DECEMBER 24, 2021

HALL OF FAMERS

Removing Carbon
from the Air

KLAUS LACKNER — DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR NEGATIVE CARBON EMISSIONS

laus lackner first float- ments in the last year to technologies The Hidden Figure
ed the idea of removing car- for taking carbon directly from the Behind GPS
bon directly from the air as atmosphere. Currently 19 direct-air
a way of putting the brakes on climate capture plants are operating around GLADYS WEST — MATHEMATICIAN,
change in 1999, and he has been de- the world, the largest of which came U.S. NAVAL PROVING GROUND
voted to figuring out how ever since. online in September in Iceland. The
His single vision can seem like federal government offers tax credits It’s hard to imagine a world without the
tilting at windmills. The prospect of and the infrastructure bill passed in global positioning system, the network
keeping up with the 33 billion tons November includes more than $10 of satellites whose signals provide our
of carbon the world releases into billion for carbon-capture projects, digital devices with the ability to deter-
the atmosphere each year, let alone including $3.5 billion to build four mine, with startling accuracy, the precise
removing enough of it to return to regional direct air capture hubs. ORFDWLRQ RI \RXU FDU VWXFN LQ WUDIɿF RQ WKH
pre-industrial levels, is daunting. But Brooklyn-Queens Expressway or tag your
the vastness and urgency of the prob- It’s too early to know if carbon pals on social media. GPS wouldn’t have
lem argues for pursuing every avail- capture will ever amount to more been possible without the work of West,
able means. Lackner’s leadership has than a drop in the climate bucket. a mathematician and computer scientist.
helped focus some of the world’s best But if someone eventually figures
minds on carbon capture. out how to make it work at scale, In 1956, West became the second
For years, Lackner, a professor at we’ll all owe a debt to Lackner. —k.r. Black woman hired by the U.S. Naval
the School of Sustainable Engineer- Proving Ground, a weapons laboratory
FROM TOP: COURTESY OF TRIMBLE; ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY ing at Arizona State University, has in Dahlgren, Virginia, and one of just
worked to develop a mechanical four Black employees. She wrote soft-
tree that removes carbon dioxide ware for submarine-launched ballistic
a thousand times more efficiently missiles and a program to calculate the
than natural trees and requires no position of Pluto relative to Neptune,
energy to operate. It relies on wind which won accolades from her peers.
to blow air past resin-encrusted discs,
which absorb the greenhouse gas (to In 1978, she became the project
be eventually stored permanently manager of Seasat, an experimental
underground or reused in industrial satellite designed to demonstrate the
processes). A Dublin-based tech com- feasibility of gathering data about
pany, Carbon Collect, got $2.5 million the oceans from low-earth orbit. That
from the Department of Energy this project called for a computer program
summer to build three “carbon farms” that could precisely calculate the path
of Lackner’s trees capable of captur- of the satellite as it passed over the
ing 1,000 tons of the substance each surface of the Earth, with its mountains
day—about 1,844 American house- and plateaus and oceans. To accom-
holds’ worth of emissions. SOLVK LW :HVW ɿUVW KDG WR GHYLVH D ZD\
Carbon capture is now moving of mathematically representing in
into the mainstream. Elon Musk, Mi- detail the shape of the Earth that could
crosoft and Occidental Petroleum be incorporated into the software.
have made large financial commit-
That pioneering work eventually
led to GPS, now essential to digital
systems that use location tracking—of
trucks, packages, cellphones, missiles
and airplanes. Ironically, West her-
self, who was inducted into the U.S.
Air Force Hall of Fame in 2018 and
recently turned 91, prefers navigating
by old-fashioned paper maps. —M.G.

NEWSWEEK.COM 33

Globalizing
Streaming Content

BELA BAJARIA — HEAD OF GLOBAL TV, NETFLIX

ho would have guessed in television. Show by show, she and PEOPLE
that the breakout hits on her colleagues are changing our view- WHO ARE USING
American television this ing diet. In the last two years, the
year would be Squid Game, a survival company says American viewing of TECHNOLOGY
story from Korea, and Lupin, a French non-English language programs has TO CHANGE THE
thriller about a Black gentleman grown 67 percent. Viewing of Japa-
thief? Even Bela Bajaria says there nese anime in the U.S. has doubled; CULTURAL
was no way to predict it. But as the so-called K-dramas from Korea have CONVERSATION
head of global television at Netflix, tripled. Competitors say they’ve seen
it’s her job to find the next big show— similar trends—shows from one coun-
and if it comes from an unexpected try doing remarkably well elsewhere.
corner of the planet, all the better.
“There has been this pervasive idea COVID-19 has obviously played a
that only Hollywood exports stories, role: People hunkered down at home
which I find really limits who gets to and looked for interesting things to
tell those stories,” Bajaria says. “We’re watch. If a series from Germany or
pushing beyond that and opening Mexico trended on TikTok or turned
the doors to creators of all different up on best-shows-to-binge-on lists,
types around the world.” people binged on it. Netflix makes it
Netflix is the world’s largest stream- easy to cross borders; it dubs shows
ing service, which makes Bajaria one in 34 languages and offers subtitles
of the most influential programmers in 37. Subscribers can see a larger
slice of the world as a result.

34 N E W S W E E K . C O M

“We’re pushing
beyond that and
opening the doors
to creators of all
different types
around the world.”

CHRISTOPHER PATEY/CONTOUR/GET T Y Bajaria knows a bit about world- “When you’re a kid, you just want very much a business, and Netflix,
views from childhood experience. to belong. So I ended up watching with something like 175 million view-
She was born in London to parents a lot of TV to get rid of my accent.” ers in the U.S. (the company is selec-
who had come from India. They She says she learned American cul- tive about what numbers it releases),
moved to Zambia when she was lit- ture by binging on Bewitched and is now growing most rapidly in other
tle, and brought her to Los Angeles The Brady Bunch—and sounded like countries. So it’s looking for Brazilian
when she was 9 years old. “I was this other Americans in two months. shows that attract Brazilian viewers,
Indian brown girl and I also had a or Spanish shows that will build a fol-
British accent, and that was too “Now,” she says, “I embrace being dif- lowing in Spain. If that also means a
many things at an age when fitting ferent and think it is a superpower. My more diverse offering of programs for
in felt more important,” she says. 9-year-old self didn’t know that.” subscribers in Tennessee or New Jer-
sey, it may broaden viewers’ perspec-
Remember that television is still tives, but it also helps the bottom line.

Still, says Bajaria, “The good news is
it’s not an either/or. The variety, qual-
ity and authenticity of our local con-
tent drives our business. And at the
same time, great television is a mirror
and a window. We think more people
deserve to see themselves represented
on screen, and that’s the mirror part.”

So what kept Bajaria watching
Squid Game? (If you haven’t seen it,
the story, as told by director Hwang
Dong-hyuk, involves people, down
on their luck, forced to play chil-
dren’s games with win-or-die conse-
quences.) Did she react to it because
it was different? Or because it was
familiar?

Bajaria says it was a bit of both.
Hwang, she says, “made a very specif-
ic local story that was deeply Korean,
but those ideas and themes connect-
ed much more broadly.” —N.P.

December 24, 2021 NEWSWEEK.COM 35

IGNITING A SOCIAL JUSTICE Policing Big Tech )520 /()7 ,//8675$7,21 %< $/(; ),1( 9,2/(7 7$ 0$5.(/28
MOVEMENT WITH A CELLPHONE
KATIE PAUL — DIRECTOR
DARNELLA FRAZIER — SOCIAL ACTIVIST TECH TRANSPARENCY PROJECT

razier was not the first person to witness an act of police bru- Trained as an anthropologist, Katie Paul’s
tality, record it and have the recording go viral—that action road to becoming a social media and big
dates back at least 30 years, to 1991, when Rodney King’s beating tech watchdog began with witnessing
by LAPD officers was filmed by a bystander on a nearby balcony. WKH WUDIɿFNLQJ RI DQFLHQW DUWLIDFWV RIWHQ
But Frazier is the one who, by taking a cellphone video of George WKURXJK )DFHERRN JURXSV LQ WKH 0LGGOH
Floyd’s killing by a white Minneapolis police officer in May 2020, East and North Africa. Now she and her
then posting it on Facebook, ignited a social justice and police re- team at the Tech Transparency Project are
form movement that continues to this day—and who has inspired WU\LQJ WR KROG WHFK FRPSDQLHV OLNH )DFH-
countless others to reach for their cellphones when they witness or ERRN *RRJOH $SSOH DQG $PD]RQ DFFRXQW-
are involved in racist encounters or acts of police violence. DEOH IRU DGYHUVH LQʀXHQFH DQG FULPLQDO
Since Floyd’s death, Frazier, now just 18 years old, has received activity that occurs on their platforms.
numerous accolades for her actions, including a special Pulitzer
Prize this year for “highlighting the crucial role of citizens in jour- For instance, in 2020, TTP issued
nalists’ quest for truth and justice.” She’s mainly stayed out of the several reports about militia groups using
spotlight, though, choosing instead to continue to quietly shine )DFHERRN WR RUJDQL]H DQG UHFUXLW WKDW
a light on racism, police misconduct and, occasionally, random SXW SUHVVXUH RQ )DFHERRN WR EDQ WKHVH
acts of kindness, via posts on her Facebook feed. She’s also still JURXSV DQG SURJUDP WKHLU DOJRULWKP WR ʀDJ
grappling with the personal impact of what she calls “a traumatic NH\ZRUGV OLNH %RRJDORR WKH QDPH RI D IDU
life-changing experience,” writing in a poignant post on the an- right anti-government extremist movement.
niversary of Floyd’s death: “It changed how I viewed life. It made 7KLV \HDU WKH\ŠYH VSXUUHG )DFHERRN WR
me realize how dangerous it is to be Black in America.” —m.g. FKDQJH LWV DG SROLFLHV DIWHU ɿQGLQJ WKDW WKH
site allowed minors to be targeted by con-
3W tent promoting anorexia, alcohol, gambling
and pill parties. “When they announced
these changes under pressure, we didn’t
just congratulate ourselves and move
RQ :H ZHQW EDFN DQG H[DPLQHG WKHP
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through on their promises,” says Paul,
echoing revelations made in September by
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WKDW WKH FRPSDQ\ FRQWLQXHV WR SULRULWL]H
SURɿW RYHU VWHPPLQJ PLVLQIRUPDWLRQ SROLW-
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Still, Paul and TTP, an initiative of the
QRQSURɿW &DPSDLJQ IRU $FFRXQWDELOLW\
SODQ WR FRQWLQXH ɿJKWLQJ 5HFHQWO\ WKH\ŠYH
released new reports on militia groups and
WHHQ WDUJHWLQJ DV ZHOO DV WDFNOLQJ KXPDQ
smuggling and Apple’s covert lobbying to
prevent legislation forcing changes in its
DSS VWRUH Ŝ. 5

DECEMBER 24, 2021

PARADIGM SHIFTERS

Apps for the CELEBRATING BEAUTY
Trans Community IN ALL FORMS

KATHERINE ANTHONY LIZZO — SINGER-RAPPER, ADVOCATE
CO-FOUNDER, CEO, EUPHORIA
) 5 2 0 7 2 3 3$7 5 , & . ) 2 8 4 8 ( ʔ & 2 1 7 2 8 5 ʔ * ( 7 7 < ( 8 3 + 2 5 , $ Forget body positivity. Lizzo, the she’s posted video clips admonishing
hen katherine anthony singer-rapper turned style icon, is “the haters” in her latest single “Rumors”
was gender transitioning, using social media to advocate “body (sample lyric: “While you’re spending all
she found herself wishing neutrality” and she’s doing it just like your time tryna break a woman down/
there was an app that could help. VKH GRHV HYHU\WKLQJ HOVHŜɿHUFHO\ Realer shit is going on, baby, take a look
“There wasn’t anything at the time around”) and of her appearance at Art
that helped synthesize all the infor- The goal is to get people to embrace Basel, where she created a painting
mation regarding transition, life in D PRUH LQFOXVLYH GHɿQLWLRQ RI EHDXW\ DQG with her behind and appeared onstage
the U.S. as a trans person, or even just to decrease pressure, as Lizzo said earli- in a white-sequined leotard with the
keeping track of all of my goals,” she er this year, “to show a digitally distorted words “The Body” emblazoned on it.
says. So she set about building it her- version of ourselves, reinforcing the idea
self with help from her co-founder that our beauty in real life is not good Lizzo’s message is one of self accep-
and friend Patrick McHugh. enough.” And she’s using Twitter and tance and ultimately, as she told Essence
Their company, Euphoria, now runs Instagram as her megaphone, with posts in a cover story out this month, she’d
a suite of five free apps used by an es- showcasing her curves, her fashion sen- like to help shift the cultural conver-
timated 80,000 transgender people in sibility, her twerking prowess and her sation away from how people look to
the U.S., or about one in every 25. The point of view. Then there was the unedit- their inner beauty. “It’s exhausting,”
flagship app, Solace, aims to be a com- HG QXGH VHOɿH LQ $SULO SRVWHG ZKHQ VKH she said. “And that’s the point. I don’t
pendium for gender transition, offer- announced her involvement in Dove’s want to talk about this anymore. We
ing such useful information as how to Self-Esteem Project. More recently, should be neutral about bodies.” —D.H.
find health insurance coverage and get
legal assistance to change a name. Bliss,
a new app that launched November 15,
is a tool for putting money aside for
future goals, such as hormone therapy
or gender confirmation surgery. Also
in the works: a platform focused on
mental health. Overall, Anthony says,
the response has been positive, with
user polling showing that the apps
have helped reduce stress and other
negative emotions and “helped a lot of
people become who they are.” —k.r.

NEWSWEEK.COM 37

DAVID FENNER

WORKING TO
ENSURE INCLUSION

AND EQUITY
IN THE CREATOR

ECONOMY

Making Sure Musicians Get started a blockchain platform called
a Fair Shake Via Blockchain RAIDAR, designed to help musicians
connect with potential clients (per-
GEORGE HOWARD haps filmmakers or video game de-
DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR, BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC signers who need theme music) and
get paid for their work without losing
here has always been a Howard’s experience includes ownership. When a client wants to
gulf between the few mu- heading up an independent record license music, a record of the trans-
sicians who make it big label and advising clients such as Na- action is kept on multiple computer
and the many, many others who have tional Public Radio and singer Carly servers connected online—literally,
to do something else to pay the bills. Simon. More recently, he’s invested a a chain of ledgers, or “blocks.” That
That was true in the days of Mozart, lot of his time in blockchain—the on- keeps everyone honest, because if
who died in debt. It was true in the line technology behind Bitcoin and one block is altered it won’t match the
golden age of rock music, when re- other cryptocurrencies. Although others. The blockchain uses “smart
cord companies promoted a few stars blockchain is mostly used for finan- contracts”—computer programs that
like The Beatles and Michael Jackson. cial transactions, Howard says it issue licenses and process payments.
And it’s still true in the age of Spoti- can also be used for copyrights and
fy, Apple Music and other streaming contracts to protect artists and help For now, RAIDAR is a pilot program
services, when most musicians get them earn more money. for students. But Howard says he
pennies for their work. hopes to influence a new generation
“If you’re on Spotify right now, The advantage of blockchain is that of musicians to “lean into technology.”
listening to my band, you’d have to it’s decentralized. There’s no middle- He tells young artists that they don’t
stream one of our songs 786 times man to take a percentage and no con- need a record-company label if they
for me to be able to buy a single cup trolling banks or record companies can leverage technology to help spread
of coffee,” said Joey La Neve DeFran- to slow things down. Howard and their name and get gigs.
cesco of the punk rock group Down- colleagues at Berklee and MIT have
town Boys during a protest in March. “It is no longer acceptable for an
George Howard, a professor at “I’ve never been artist to go, ‘All I’m going to do is just
Berklee College of Music in Boston, more optimistic.” become a master at my instrument’,”
is out to make the future more just. he says.
He’s introducing new technology to
make sure musicians get a fair shake. In the future he envisions artists
“It’s tragic,” he says. “My main moving from the stage and the record-
thrust in all my work these days is ing studio to the metaverse, an online
to ensure that no more will any of us world where virtual performances
create tools or applications for artists may someday be as energizing as a live
without artists being in the room.” event. That kind of technology could
put musicians in direct contact with
larger audiences, giving them a chance
to profit with fewer intermediaries.

“I’ve never been more optimistic,”
Howard says, “but it’s only going to
work well if the artists are part of the
creation process.” —N.P.

DECEMBER 24, 2021 NEWSWEEK.COM 39

A PLATFORM FOR FANS TO A Digital
SPONSOR THEIR FAVORITE ARTISTS Showcase for
Black Artists
JACK CONTE, SAM YAM — CO-FOUNDERS, PATREON
KIMBERLY DREW
ack in 2013, musician jack to determine the artist’s next project ACTIVIST AND CURATOR, FROM LEFT: ILLUSTRATION BY ALEX FINE; TRAVIS MAT THEWS; ILLUSTRATION BY BRIT T SPENCER
Conte spent 50 days recreat- and other perks. Says Conte: “We’re VOICE
ing the Millennium Falcon allowing people to make a living do-
from Stars Wars for a music video, ing what they love.” Working at the intersection of
maxing out credit cards and draining tech, art and activism, Drew has
his savings to fund his vision, even Patreon really took off during the spent her career so far—she’s just
though he knew he’d likely earn just pandemic when artists, stymied by a decade out of college—work-
$100 from it via YouTube ads. “I got the inability to earn income from ing to innovate within the art
sick thinking about all of this time, en- concerts, festivals, galleries, craft world’s institutions, to ensure
ergy, money and for what!? $100? The markets and other public gathering fair and diverse art represen-
creative system was clearly broken for spaces, turned to the site as a lifeline. tation in a digital age and, in
artists. There had to be a better way.” Creators have joined in record num- particular, to amplify the work
Conte’s solution, built with former bers over the past two years, bringing of Black creators. As she puts
college roommate Sam Yam, an expe- the current total to 250,000, support- it: “I have tried my best to use
rienced coder and start-up veteran: ed by some 8 million fans; artists’ digital communications to invite
Patreon, a first-of-its-kind platform earnings over the period have tripled broader audiences into conver-
that allows fans to directly spon- as well, according to the site. Next up: sations about art and culture.”
sor their favorite musicians, artists, Conte is planning an offering that
gamers and other creators via a re- will allow creators to host videos di- That work started in 2011
curring monthly or annual member- rectly on the site (vs. uploading from with Drew’s Tumblr blog called
ship, often in exchange for exclusive third-party platforms) and has teased Black Contemporary Art, which
access, bonus content, voting rights interest in diving into cryptocurren- made a big splash in the art
cy with its own digital token. —k.r. world by showcasing digitized
art by and about people of
African descent. She also spent
three years as the social media
manager for the Metropolitan
Museum of Art (her own Twitter
handle: @museummammy).

Now she’s one of the inaugural
curators of the residency pro-
gram at Voice, an environmentally
friendly NFT platform, working
on NFT projects from emerging
Black creators like Devin N. Mor-
ris, UniiQu3 and Papi Juice, an
DUW FROOHFWLYH WKDW DLPV WR DIɿUP
and celebrate the lives of queer
and trans people of color. Drew
says, “Each of these artists has
had a profound impact on the
world, and I’m honored to play
a small part in supporting their
work in the NFT space.” —M.G.

DECEMBER 24, 2021

ARTISTIC ADVOCATES

A Safe, Open Marketplace
for Digital Art

DEVIN FINZER, ALEX ATALLAH
CO-FOUNDERS, OPENSEA

f 2021 goes down in the history books
as the year non-fungible tokens, or NFTs,
really took off—witness headline-making
deals like Beeple’s Everydays: The First 5000 Days
fetching $69 million at auction and Jack Dorsey’s
first tweet selling for $2.9 million—OpenSea may
be the reason. Not because the site facilitated the
sale of those instantly iconic works (it didn’t), but
because the platform, the first and largest NFT mar-
ketplace, has provided a safe, open environment for
all the other creators and collectors who want to
get in on the digital art craze.
More than 90 percent of all purchases and sales
of NFTs—which essentially represent proof of
ownership for unique digital works of art stored
on a ledger known as a blockchain—now happen
on OpenSea; in November, the site that Finzer and
Atallah built surpassed $10 billion in all-time sales.
More mainstream artists and brands, like The
Weeknd and Vogue Singapore, have taken notice,
launching NFTs on its marketplace.
Success attracts competitors, including Coin-
base, the world’s second largest crypto exchange,
which announced in October that it’s building its
own NFT marketplace. But OpenSea’s founders are
betting their formula will continue to be a winning
one. As Atallah told Yahoo!: “We’ve stuck to our core
principles, which is building an open marketplace
that allows developers to be as creative as they want.
That provides safety measures for buyers, includ-
ing the longest-running collection, verification and
safety lists in the market.” —k.r.

NEWSWEEK.COM 41

USING

LEADING-EDGE broadly, without a specific disease fo
cus, knitting together researchers and
Collaborative TECHNOLOGY teams around the world. To this en
TO SOLVE SOCIAL they are collaborating with scientists
at major research institutions around
AND COMMUNITY the world, inclu ng Harvard Uni-
versity and the Mayo Clinic, as well
Tech to Develop New, CHALLENGES as national and continental heal
Affordable Drugs agencies in the U.S , India, Brazil, U.K.,

and the European Union. Their al

JAYKUMAR MENON — CO-FOUNDER, OPEN PHARMA is to create and support a communi
ty that will “come ogether and work

rapidly, collaboratively and in real

mong the many societal strategies to an emphasis on sharing time to develop critical medicines

shortcomings the pandem- resources and research insights. and vaccines in are s of public health,

ic has laid bare, the failure One troublesome consequence of rather than worki g secretively and

to get drugs and vaccines to many peo- the reliance on big pharmaceutical in silos and in a manner where t

ple who need them is one of the most companies to bring a drug from lab to fruit [of this rese rch] may be inac-

painful and urgent. For many people market is that it provides no incentive cessible to most pe e.”

around the world, the shots that ar- to invest in diseases that take a high toll Although the group is small—a

rived so expeditiously to those in the on low-income nations and a dearth of core team of just s ven—they’ve had

rich countries are still out of reach. treatments for rare conditions, where some notable suc sses. In 2018, in

“It’s an outrage that billions of people the pay-off for developing a new drug collaboration with partners at the

have no access to the new vaccines,” is seen as too small to make sense. Indian government’s National Insti-

says human rights lawyer Jaykumar OSPF’s open source approach is tute for Tuberculo s, they brou t

Menon. “We need a new model.” intended to provide an alternative metformin, a generic diabetes medi

After years working as a lawyer and route to new drugs. It builds on an cation, to clinical tr ls as a treatmen

advocate, Menon saw a way to poten- idea articulated by Bernard Munos, a for tuberculosis, ich has gott

tially help millions of people realize co-founder and pharmaceutical inno-

the “human right to healthcare.” In- vation consultant, who put out a call

spired by the software world’s concept for open source drug development

of “Open Source,” where developers in a 2006 article in Nature, the scien-

make their code freely available for tific journal. A few open source proj- “It’s an outrage that
others to use, adapt and share, in 2014, ects followed, including Open Source billions of people
he co-founded the Open Source Phar- Malaria and the Indian government’s have no access to
ma Foundation (OSPF) with a team Open Source Drug Discovery pro-
of public health and pharmaceutical gram. OSPF, which collaborates with the new vaccines. We
industry experts. Their goal: to revo- these and other efforts, has bigger am- need a new model.”
lutionize the way pharmaceuticals are bitions. Menon and company want to

developed by shifting research from create a platform that promotes open

expensive, proprietary, profit-driven source drug and vaccine development

42 N E W S W E E K . C O M DECEMBER 24, 2021

ILLUSTRATION BY BRITT SPENCER despite having claimed
n lives in 2020 alon
took less than a year and cost
ss than $50,000, demonstrating the
potential cost-saving appeal of their
en source approach. On a broad
scale, says Menon, it could save bil-
ons of dollars and shave years o
the typical R&D timeline.
More recently, Menon’s group has
turned its open source approach to
vaccine development. In October, one
its partners shared prelimina re-
sults on repurposing an off-patent
tuberculosis vaccine for COVID-19,
finding it could reduce the risk of se-
vere COVID-19 by 68 percent. Man
nations that will otherwise
months for COVID vaccines alread
ve it stockpiled
“If you could save society trillions
of dollars by curbing a pandemic
earlier, then there’s enough money
the system for everybody,” he a
gues. “If we are able to do R&D for
one thousandth the cost, w would
you not try to eliminate a m or dis-
ease from the anet?”

NEWSWEEK.

ENTERPRISING IDEALISTS

Jump-Starting has provided tech consulting to more in a $250,000 grant; Sephus has put POET WILLIAMS
a New Tech Hub than 500 local businesses and individ- in $500,000; and Amazon, Entergy,
uals as well as youth programs. This Airbnb, W. K. Kellogg Foundation, the
NASHLIE SEPHUS — FOUNDER, THE BEAN PATH new side labor of love involves reno- Rockefeller Foundation and several
vating eight buildings and putting up local partners are also backers.
rom 14 abandoned acres five new ones over the next three years.
in downtown Jackson, Mis- They will house an innovation center If successful, the venture could
sissippi, Nashlie Sephus is for tech skills, an electronics lab, a provide a model for other cities. But
plotting a $150 million transforma- photo studio, apartments, restaurants for Sephus the motivation comes
tion of her hometown into a new tech and a grocery store. from wanting “people educated in the
hub. It’s an outgrowth of the Amazon state to have similar opportunities in
AI scientist’s work for the Bean Path, By 2025, Sephus hopes to have cre- STEM within the state as they do out-
a nonprofit she began in 2018 that ated 1,100 jobs in tech and the arts, side of it,” she says. “Lastly, I wanted
450 housing units, 20 grocery stores more people who looked like me or
and restaurants and added more had a similar background, to be a part
than 3.5 acres of event and green of the tech movement and have their
space to the area. The city has kicked fair chance at innovation.” —k.r.

44 N E W S W E E K . C O M DECEMBER 24, 2021

Fighting Digital FINTECH HELP FOR
Stop-and-Frisk LOW-INCOME AMERICANS

MATT MITCHELL JIMMY CHEN — FOUNDER AND CEO, PROPEL
FOUNDER, CRYPTOHARLEM
efore chen formed prop- 5 million SNAP households and has
Over-policing of marginalized neigh- pel and launched its signa- helped SNAP recipients extend their
borhoods doesn’t just happen on the ture free app, EBT Fresh, in benefits an extra day per month on
streets: It’s a serious issue online, too. 2016, the convenience of mobile bank- average, a Harvard study found. This
After the murder of George Floyd, cops ing had passed food-stamp recipients summer Chen launched a major ex-
routinely scoured social media for pro- by. Even though benefits are awarded pansion of the platform, now renamed
tester names and locations, a phenome- in the form of an Electronic Benefit Providers. Among the new offerings:
non Mitchell calls “digital stop and frisk.” Transfer card, which acts like a prepaid a free debit account with no monthly
debit card loaded with food stamps or overdraft, minimum balance or inac-
Since 2013, Mitchell has run a clinic cash, the more than 41 million people tivity fees; information and updates on
in Manhattan called CryptoHarlem, who participate in SNAP, the U.S. food government programs; direct deposit
providing encryption tools and cyberse- stamp program, had no way of check- of income and benefits, in some cases,
curity workshops. During last summer’s ing their benefits balance except by three to five days early; and personal-
racial reckoning, CryptoHarlem created calling a toll-free number or manually ized discounts. To support the service,
guides to help protesters across the re-logging into a website each time. the company sells ads from health care,
country protect their digital identities. “I wondered why there wasn’t a grocery and food companies. Says
“As hackers, we don’t have the most faith mobile banking app for the EBT card,” nominator Shannon Austin, a fintech
in laws and how they are enforced,” says Chen. “You probably don’t call consultant: “Propel proves you can do
says Mitchell, a former data journalist your bank to check the balance of your good and also do well, and that tech-
at The New York Times. “But we know account, why should you have to call nology has the potential to dramatical-
that policy and law is an important the EBT card to know your balance?” ly improve the financial lives of those
IURQW RI WKH ɿJKW DJDLQVW VXUYHLOODQFH Ť The app is now used by more than who struggle.”—k.r.

Mitchell believes that Black
communities act as beta-testers for
powerful surveillance tools that might
soon become ubiquitous. CryptoHar-
lem works with the American Civil
Liberties Union on surveillance and
privacy legislation, such as the Public
Oversight of Surveillance Technology
Act, which New York City passed in
2020 to increase transparency in police
surveillance. “Now we just have a hard
time enforcing it and getting the NYPD
to cooperate,” Mitchell says. “So Cryp-
toHarlem is on the streets taking photos,
researching tech, making sure what we
see is what has been declared.” —M.G.

FROM TOP: HENRY ZHANG; NICK LEE

NEWSWEEK.COM 45

High-Tech Poop Analysis to ENTERPRISING IDEALISTS
Improve Public Health
Making
MARIANA MATUS, NEWSHA GHAELI — CO-FOUNDERS, BIOBOT ANALYTICS Voting Systems
Safe and
ur po op, it turns out, other health surveillance and diag- Transparent
contains a trove of useful nosis techniques. “Everyone has a
health data, such as what voice in the sewer, where even hard- BEN ADIDA
viruses, bacteria and drugs are soon ly reached and underserved popu- DIRECTOR, VOTINGWORKS
to become public health concerns. lations can be taken into account,
But getting at that data requires de- without bias,” says Nora D. Volkow, Many Americans are losing
tecting extremely low quantities of director of the National Institute on faith in the ballot box—and
drugs and viruses. Drug Abuse. digital technology that
Matus and Ghaeli have developed provides no way of checking
highly-sensitive technology that can Matus and Ghaeli’s company, Biobot the results. Adida, a software
not only detect small levels but also Analytics, has analyzed the wastewater engineer, is working to restore
tease out subtle insights from the of 98 million Americans. It has been that trust by bringing a new
data. For instance, it can distinguish instrumental in identifying surges in transparency to the tech-
between opioids that people have COVID-19 before testing results are nology of voting machines.
taken versus those they’ve flushed in. Over the summer, Biobot worked
down the toilet. The technology has with the Centers for Disease Control In 2018, Adida founded
proven invaluable in giving officials and Prevention and U.S. Department 9RWLQJ:RUNV D QRQSURɿW WKDW
early warning of disease outbreaks of Health and Human Services to sam- is building voting machines
or rises in drug abuse, making it ple more than 350 communities in and election management
possible to target tests or treat- 50 states and is actively testing in 140 software that are fully open
ments where they’re needed. It also communities, up from an initial seven source, in which developers
provides a more complete picture of in 2020. The company has also helped collaborate openly and make
what an area is experiencing than the World Bank establish wastewater their code public. As Adida
analysis in Latin America. —k.r. puts it, “Two voters in the
same town might disagree on
every issue yet vote using the $6(< $7.,16ʔ0,7
same equipment. That equip-
ment must be transparent,
source code and all, so every
voter can trust the outcome.”

VotingWorks developed a
software tool, Arlo, that veri-
ɿHV YRWLQJ UHVXOWV E\ FRPSDU-
ing a randomized sampling of
paper ballots with the digital
machine count. VotingWorks
has used Arlo to audit elec-
tion results in 10 states. This
November, North Carolina
counties used the program to
verify election results without
retaining VotingWorks to
manage the audit, suggesting
the technology can be man-
DJHG E\ ORFDO RIɿFLDOV —M.G.

DECEMBER 24, 2021

3(7(5 $'$06 52=(77( 5$*2 FOOD PRESERVATIVES
THAT AREN’T TOXIC

JAMES ROGERS
FOUNDER AND CEO, APEEL SCIENCES

oday, one in nine people
around the world goes hun-
gry, yet almost 25 percent of
produce is wasted each year. A decade
ago, Rogers, as a graduate student in
materials science at UC Santa Barba-
ra, wondered why. “The problem was
not in the growing of food, but keep-
ing it viable once it was picked and
in transport to its final destination,”
he says. A better solution than plastic
wrapping or artificial preservatives,
Rogers thought, was to “use food to
preserve food.”
Rogers developed an invisible,
protective coating for produce that
is made up of lipids naturally found
in the produce itself. Applied by
spraying, dipping or brushing, the
coating forms an invisible, odorless
and edible (the FDA says it’s safe)
protective shield that retains mois-
ture and resists oxidation. With the
coating, avocados, apples, limes and
cucumbers have a longer shelf life,
without plastic wrappers.
Apeel-treated produce is now avail-
able in grocery chains in the U.S. and
Europe, including Walmart, Costco,
Kroger and ShopRite. The company has
forged partnerships in eight countries
and recently raised funds to expand in
Africa, Asia and Latin America. —m.g.

NEWSWEEK.COM 47

Master of
the Metaverse

DAVID BASZUCKI — CEO, ROBLOX

magine a world in company Meta Platforms. Microsoft PLAYFUL
which you can be anyone is moving in as well. TECHNOLOGY
you want—a superhero, a THAT’S PUSHING
rock star, a science fiction monster or Baszucki is years ahead of them. THE EDGE OF
an angel. You can play games or meet “We’re creating a platform where
up with friends. You can go anywhere people don’t just play, but they’re WHAT’S
in this world in an instant. You can starting to learn together, work to- POSSIBLE
live your fantasies. At least until your gether, experience entertainment to-
mother yells to turn off the computer gether,” says Baszucki via email. “Us-
and come to dinner. ers provide the variety—millions and
That’s the metaverse—a virtual millions and millions of experiences.
reality online world defined, in part, And it’s built on civility and safety.”
by a computer engineer named David At a conference for software de-
Baszucki and the company he started, velopers in October, Baszucki was in-
Roblox Corp. Baszucki didn’t invent troduced, and loudly applauded, as
the metaverse (the word was coined “the one and only Builderman.” Buil-
by novelist Neal Stephenson in 1992), derman was his avatar—the comput-
but Roblox says it attracts 47 million er-generated character he created to
active users each day from around the represent himself online in the ear-
world—mostly children, who spent 11 ly days of Roblox. But Roblox leaves
billion hours there over three months most of the “building” to the develop-
last summer. Mark Zuckerberg of ers and the youngsters who use the
Facebook says the metaverse is the site, much as social media sites let
future; in October he renamed his you post your own stuff. There may be
more than 30 million different games

ILLUSTRATION BY BRITT SPENCER

48 N E W S W E E K . C O M DECEMBER 24, 2021