--- title: Bill Gates' TIME Optimist Issue in Augmented Reality description: With special features created with Bill Gates and Bono canonical: https://time.com/5084021/optimism-ar/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-01-04T10:00:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:02:31.087Z article:section: Press Room og:title: Experience the first augmented reality issue of TIME og:description: With special features created with Bill Gates and Bono og:url: https://time.com/5084021/optimism-ar/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt948d6edc372656f3/6988f702cf40a858dfc4acdf/gates-cover-ar-mock1.jpg?branch=production&width=1120&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1120 og:image:height: 630 og:image:alt: Bill Gates Cover AR og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Experience the first augmented reality issue of TIME twitter:description: With special features created with Bill Gates and Bono twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt948d6edc372656f3/6988f702cf40a858dfc4acdf/gates-cover-ar-mock1.jpg?branch=production&width=1120&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # See TIME's 'Optimist' Issue in Augmented Reality > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs takes readers inside the newsroom, revealing the journalists, ideas and editorial choices behind the stories shaping the global conversation. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=ad8e71d5-a113-4859-8f58-d0211e96362f&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Closing the Gender Gap in Education [Watch (HLS stream): Closing the Gender Gap in Education](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/apildNWs.m3u8) (2:06)  _Published 2018-01-04. This week, pick up a copy of TIME’s first augmented reality-enhanced issue on Optimism, guest edited by Bill Gates. Throughout the issue, you’ll find special AR experiences—from behind-the-scenes videos, to infographics and animations._ by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Jan 4, 2018 10:00 AM UTC  Photo Illustration by Mia Tramz for TIME by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Jan 4, 2018 10:00 AM UTC On Friday, Jan. 5, you can pick up a copy of TIME’s first augmented reality-enhanced issue, guest edited by Bill Gates. Throughout the issue, you’ll find special AR experiences powered by RYOT Lab, including behind-the-scenes videos, infographics and animations. The cover features an animation narrated by Gates which tells the story of [Mohamad Nasir, an Ethiopian boy, who Gates first met shortly after Mohamad’s birth in 2012](http://time.com/5071035/meet-the-five-year-old-boy-bill-gates-put-on-the-cover-of-time). Mohamad’s fifth birthday should be a cause of celebration for many as it exemplifies the improving child survival rates in Ethiopia and throughout the world. “Child mortality is a a good measure for overall well-being; it’s also a leading indicator of progress,” Gates says. “What is more fundamental than keeping children alive so they can thrive and build the future?” _See a video of the AR cover feature below._ [The Jan. 15 issue](http://time.com/the-optimists) also features an animated AR infographic created with Bono, the lead singer of U2 and co-founder of [ONE](http://bit.ly/2CFAMlM) and [(RED)](https://red.org/), on the [importance of closing the gender gap in education](http://bit.ly/2CBLkme). Inspired by drawings created by Bono, the infographic shows how wide the gap is between boys and girls education, and what would happen if that gap was closed. _See a video of the AR infographic below._ To watch these and the rest of the AR features in the magazine at home, download the LIFE VR app for [iOS](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id1145044328) and [Android](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.timeinc.life.lifevr) for free, click the ‘Enable AR’ button at the bottom of the app’s screen, hover over the AR enabled pages and watch them come to life! For more virtual reality and augmented reality from TIME, Sports Illustrated, People, Travel + Leisure and more, visit [time.com/lifevr](http://time.com/lifevr). ## Transcript How can we explain the scale of the gender gap in education, and what would happen if we closed it and girls had the same chance to be educated as boys? Well here's where we are today, nearly a half a billion women worldwide cannot read. That's more than the population of the United States of America. If the 130 million out- of- school girls made up a country, it would be the tenth largest in the world. The size of the UK and France combined. Closing the global gender gap in education could generate 112 to $ 152 million a year for the economies of developing countries. Wait, did I say millions? I meant 112 to $ 152 billion a year for the economies of developing countries, that's more than Amazon's annual revenue A girl in the world's poorest countries could go to school for $ 1. 17 a day that is less than the cost of fidget spinner, a pack of gum, a slice of pizza, a hit song on iTunes, son by an extremely tall, handsome, ageless, wait, this is aging rock star When girls are educated, they have better job opportunities and their earning potential rises. An additional year of schooling for girls is estimated to result in a 12 % increase in wages. When girls are educated, the chances of marrying below the age of 18 decline with each stage of education, reducing the risk of maternal and child death. When girls are educated it saves lives. Educating every girl to secondary level in sub- Saharan Africa could help save the lives of 1. 2 million children. So what can you do to help close the gap? Tell world leaders Why you think girls count. 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