Recommended Robot and AI Reads This Week
How the Modern Workplace Has Become More Like a Preschool
New research suggests that hard-to-computerize skills, such as social understanding, are key in those jobs that have resisted automation. The Upshot suggests that such skills should be emphasized more in higher education.
Laundroid, the Laundry-Folding Robot of Our Dreams, Is Only Slightly Ominous in Real Life
Ironically, the prototype machine described in this story, which takes five minutes to fold a shirt, mostly illustrates the scale of the problem with sophisticated household robots.
Researchers Say They’ve Re-created Part of a Rat Brain Digitally
The latest progress in a fascinating, and somewhat controversial, effort to re-create biological brains using computers.
Staying Human in the Robot Age
An interesting piece from Harvard Busines Review on the corporate forces driving the seemingly unstoppable automation of our lives.
Firm Plans to Replace Humans with Machines in Its Lettuce Factories
Automation is already used in agriculture, but one Japanese company hopes to extend this to factory-farmed lettuce. It sounds impossibly expensive to me, but it’s interesting.
Keep Reading
Most Popular
What to know about this autumn’s covid vaccines
New variants will pose a challenge, but early signs suggest the shots will still boost antibody responses.
DeepMind’s cofounder: Generative AI is just a phase. What’s next is interactive AI.
“This is a profound moment in the history of technology,” says Mustafa Suleyman.
Human-plus-AI solutions mitigate security threats
With the right human oversight, emerging technologies like artificial intelligence can help keep business and customer data secure
Next slide, please: A brief history of the corporate presentation
From million-dollar slide shows to Steve Jobs’s introduction of the iPhone, a bit of show business never hurt plain old business.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.