Scientist Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas studies animal interaction with computers. She even developed a telephone that lets her dog call her!

Aibo the robot dog has sensors, cameras and AI. Can it compete with a live animal? DW pits him against a real dog. So who wins in the categories of cuddling, romping, cleanliness, character and cost?

Whether at hospitals, governments or energy providers, cyberattacks and network failures can have life-threatening consequences. How can sensitive sectors of society be better protected?

Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and even solar storms can all threaten network stability. Around 95% of international data traffic runs through submarine cables — and these can be damaged.

The infrastructure of the internet is relatively robust. One reason is that it consists of many smaller networks, the autonomous systems. If some of these fail, the data traffic is simply rerouted.

In the future, people should be able to experience VR with all of their senses. Haptic gloves and suits like TeslaSuit and TactGlove are already making virtual worlds more tangible.

When using health apps, people often reveal a lot about themselves and their bodies. The discussion about the potential misuse of data in so-called period trackers shows just how risky this can be.

In Nigeria, with the help of artificial intelligence and human midwives, Agnes Health sends voice and text messages to expectant mothers. This helps women prepare for all stages of pregnancy and childbirth.

Both digital hardware and software have largely been designed by men. But more and more women are entering the digital world and want their values to shape the industry.

Anasuya Sengupta wants to see more gender diversity at Wikipedia. Her "VisibleWikiWomen" initiative managed to get more than 15,000 photos of women uploaded to the site so far, and its fourth campaign is about to start.