Voting machines, and paying along with your palm

For the previous 19 years, pc science professor Juan Gilbert has immersed himself in maybe probably the most contentious debate over election administration in america—what function, if any, touch-screen ballot-marking units ought to play within the voting course of.

Whereas advocates declare that digital voting techniques may be comparatively safe, enhance accessibility, and simplify voting and vote tallying, critics have argued that they’re insecure and must be used as occasionally as doable. 

As for Gilbert? He claims he’s lastly invented “probably the most safe voting expertise ever created.” And he’s invited a number of of probably the most revered and vocal critics of voting expertise to show his level. Learn the total story.

—Spencer Mestel

Would you pay along with your palm?

On October 14, a Chinese language tech publication reported that Tencent had quietly launched a characteristic in WeChat that enables customers to pay by verifying their palm prints. However whereas it rapidly made headlines in China, there’s solely a handful of registered logos to indicate Tencent has in truth been creating such a expertise.

Enter Chinese language social media. On in style video apps there are a handful of movies proving that Tencent has been testing palm-print fee units in cafes, bakeries, and supermarkets since no less than July. 

Their existence reaffirms how exhausting it’s to know what’s occurring in China from the surface, but additionally how video platforms are changing conventional websites to turn out to be the place the place folks categorical themselves and doc their lives. Learn the total story.

—Zeyi Yang

This story is from China Report, Zeyi’s new weekly e-newsletter overlaying the most recent comings and goings in China. Join to obtain it in your inbox each Tuesday.

Zeyi is one in all MIT Know-how Evaluate’s reporters and editors taking to the stage right this moment at EmTech, our annual convention overlaying rising expertise and international developments.

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