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Reflecting On 2016: The Year In Technology

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General Electric, which is moving into the Seaport District, is just the latest company to make Boston its headquarters. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)
General Electric, which is moving into the Seaport District, is just the latest company to make Boston its headquarters. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

As part of our series looking at the year in review, we look at 2016's big stories in technology and innovation with Boston Globe innovation economy columnist Scott Kirsner.

Top of the list is driverless cars; Cambridge company NuTonomy begins piloting its driverless cars in South Boston on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Toyota opened up a research center in Cambridge this year.

"Obviously anyone who's driven in Boston knows that it's a challenging environment," says Kirsner. "Unmarked roads, no signage, no lane painting sometimes!"

Also popular in 2016 were home robots like Jibo and Amazon Echo. However, the devices are also raising privacy concerns. Critics say that hackers could potentially access the devices' information. They also cite examples of the government attempting to retrieve the data, like in Arkansas where an Echo's data has been requested for a murder trial.

Guest

Scott Kirsner, innovation economy columnist for The Boston Globe. He tweets @ScottKirsner.

This segment aired on December 30, 2016.

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Kassandra Sundt Producer/Reporter
Kassandra Sundt was a Radio Boston producer and reporter at WBUR. She started at the station as a Here & Now intern in 2010.

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Shira Springer Sports and Society Reporter
Shira Springer covers stories at the intersection of sports and society.

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