The data scientists writing the algorithms that drive giants like Alphabet Inc. (Google) and Facebook Inc. are today’s technology wizards, and companies and governments increasingly use their creations — often in secret and with little oversight — to do everything from hiring and firing employees to identifying likely suspects for police monitoring. But there’s a dark side — and …

  If there’s one thing economists tend to agree on, it’s the benefits of free movement of labor. Lowering barriers to immigration has the power to add up to $90 trillion a year to the global economy, doubling global gross domestic product and dwarfing the impact of reducing barriers to trade and capital flows. Not only does immigration boost the …

  Decades from now, when historians look back on 2016, they’ll of course take note of the momentous votes on both sides of the Atlantic. But if they’re interested in symbolism, they might find that an even more profound turning point occurred over the English countryside in early December, when a little flying robot buzzed though the air, alighted on …