Freethink

At Freethink, we share stories about the evolving world for those who want to make a difference. Every week, we publish videos and articles showcasing passionate innovators who are tackling some of humanity's toughest challenges with fresh ideas. Our videos take you on a close-up journey, introducing you to aerospace engineers in the Mojave Desert and entrepreneurs in the largest slum in South America. You'll learn not just what they are doing, but also why they are driven, the challenges they encounter, and what keeps them motivated to push ahead. We hope that after watching these inspiring stories, you'll gain valuable insights to help you make your own impact on the world. Freethink serves as a platform for the individuals and ideas that are reshaping our future. We believe that by sharing incredible stories, we can collectively make progress and inspire change.

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The billionaire building space lasers to power Earth

2 weeks ago | freethink.com | B. David Zarley

Armed with a freshly raised Series A round of $50 million, billionaire Baiju Bhatt wants to move from Wall Street to space. The co-founder of stock-trading platform Robinhood and son of a NASA scientist, Bhatt announced his new company, Aetherflux, in the fall of 2024, and the startup’s goal is straight out of sci-fi: harvest solar power closer to the source, gathering it from the heavens and beaming it back down to Earth via laser. Aetherflux wants to move fast, too.
This startup is racing to mine the final frontier

2 weeks ago | freethink.com | Kristin Houser

It’s 2030. A shortage of rare metals needed to build many clean energy technologies threatens to stymie global decarbonization efforts, but thankfully, a mining startup just proved we can tap into a new source for the materials: asteroids. Earth is an excellent provider for humanity. Not only does it supply us with breathable air, liquid water, and the other basics that we need to survive, its crust also contains more than 90 elements in thousands of combinations.
How technology has transformed private intelligence

1 month ago | freethink.com | Ben Upton

In January 2013, Paul Kolbe was at a hotel in downtown Mexico City for a meeting of oil and gas company BP’s global security team. He had joined the British multinational five years earlier, after serving 25 years in the CIA’s directorate of operations. Suddenly, his phone began pinging with calls and emails from BP headquarters. Just before sunrise, a group of armed men had attacked a gas plant in In Amenas, an Algerian town 6,000 miles (9,650 km) away.
How local innovators are transforming the world

1 month ago | freethink.com | Alasdair Lane

As a young boy in the heart of the Ghanaian countryside, Alloysius Attah spent weekends toiling on his aunt’s small farm, planting and harvesting crops under the scorching sun. The experience opened his eyes to the challenges faced by rural smallholders—individuals who form the foundation of Ghana’s economy. Despite their hard work, these farmers often remained trapped in cycles of poverty, their struggles compounded by the adverse effects of increasingly extreme weather.
Will LLMs lead to an artificial general intelligence?

1 month ago | freethink.com |

Excerpted from The Scaling Era: An Oral History of AI 2019-2025 by Dwarkesh Patel, published by Stripe Press. Available for purchase and preorder now. Copyright © 2025 by Dwarkesh Patel. Used by permission.
Humanoid helpers are now entering our homes

2 months ago | freethink.com | Kristin Houser

It’s 2027. You just introduced yourself to NEO, the humanoid robot who will be living with you for the foreseeable future. The robot is designed to help out with chores and other tasks, and it’s not long before you find yourself grateful not just for its assistance, but also its company. Your days of doing chores may be numbered.
Fire-resilient prefab homes are helping LA build back better

2 months ago | freethink.com | Kristin Houser

This article is an installment of Future Explored, a weekly guide to world-changing technology. You can get stories like this one straight to your inbox every Saturday morning by subscribing above. It’s 2026. You’re moving into your first home, which was built mostly in a factory and then assembled onsite. Unlike the “prefab” homes of the past, this one was fully customizable, giving you the opportunity to design your dream home and then inhabit it just a few months later.
Why are traditional climate solutions falling short in the American South?

2 months ago | freethink.com | Jamie Carson

In Brunswick, Georgia, a predominantly Black community lives in the shadow of industrial facilities, where decades of conventional environmental advocacy have failed to create meaningful change. This isn’t just an anomaly. It’s a pattern repeated across the American South, where traditional climate solutions often overlook the complexities of environmental impact, public health, and community prosperity.
Arc Institute’s new AI can read and write the code of life

2 months ago | freethink.com | Kristin Houser

This article is an installment of Future Explored, a weekly guide to world-changing technology. You can get stories like this one straight to your inbox every Saturday morning by subscribing above. It’s 2040. You’re at your doctor’s office, going over the results of your genome analysis. An advanced AI has identified patterns in your DNA code that suggest you’re at high risk of developing a certain disease in the future. Thankfully, the same AI can be used to design a treatment.
All PCs will be AI PCs "pretty soon," says Intel exec

2 months ago | freethink.com | Kristin Houser

This article is an installment of Future Explored, a weekly guide to world-changing technology. You can get stories like this one straight to your inbox every Saturday morning by subscribing above. It’s 2026. You just bought a new laptop, and unlike your last one, this device is an “AI PC.” The distinction means you can now run all the latest AI applications directly on your device without draining your battery, keeping your data private and secure.