robots

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Watch Out: By 2029, Robots Will Be Smarter Than People

Even the smartest people, says artificial intelligence expert

(Newser) - If you're concerned that robots might one day gain sentience and rise up against the humans, a recent proclamation from Google's director of engineering probably will not calm you: Ray Kurzweil says that by 2029, computers will be smarter than even the smartest people. Kurzweil, a leading artificial...

Here's How Earth Could Really End: Scientists

Global warming, pandemic, fungus ... a not-fun time for everyone

(Newser) - From Planet of the Apes to After Earth, Hollywood has depicted Earth's demise many a time—but scientists' fears of planetary catastrophe are just as scary, LiveScience reports. Here are a few Doomsday scenarios as imagined by scientific minds:
  • Global warming: Scientists call this the biggest threat of all.
...

Google's Latest Buy: Military Robot Firm

Boston Dynamics contraption is world's fastest robot runner

(Newser) - Google has purchased its eighth robotics company of the year, and its latest acquisition makes the fastest-running robot on the planet. Boston Dynamics, inventor of the Cheetah, gets US military funding to make mobile robots, the BBC reports. Along with the Cheetah—which can run 29mph—company projects include BigDog,...

Most Web Traffic Isn&#39;t Human
 Most Web Traffic Isn't Human 
Dec 13, 2013 2:06 AM CST

Most Web Traffic Isn't Human

Bots now account for 61.5% of traffic

(Newser) - If you're an Internet user with blood in your veins and air in your lungs, you're now part of a shrinking minority, according to startling new research. Some 61% of web traffic is now non-human, made up of a motley assortments of bots generated by search engines, scrapers,...

Google's Next Big Investment: Robots

Company turns to Android guru Andy Rubin

(Newser) - Amazon isn't the only big Internet firm in the robotics game : Google is at work on some literal androids. As part of the effort, it has quietly bought up seven US and Japanese tech companies in the past half-year, the New York Times reports. The company is hoping to...

Robot Swarm's Mission: Kill Jellyfish

South Korean 'bots aim to catch them in nets and slice them up

(Newser) - Flesh-shredding robots that can devour 2,000 pounds an hour may sound like the stuff of horror movies, but they're very real and come with a purpose: kill jellyfish. Engineers in South Korea are working on something called the Jellyfish Elimination Robotic Swarm to cut down deadly attacks on...

Japan Sends Robo-Astronaut to Space Station

Launch is 'one giant leap for robots'

(Newser) - Japan may have been nowhere near putting the first man into orbit or on the moon, but today it sent the first robot "astronaut" to the International Space Station. Tucked among some 5 tons of supplies headed to the ISS is a 13-inch-tall talking humanoid robot named Kirobo, reports...

New Coffee Shop Has Robot Baristas

Bow down to your new coffee-making robot overlords

(Newser) - An Austin-based coffee company has opened a new coffee kiosk at the University of Texas, but it's missing one surprising ingredient: people. The Briggo Coffee Haus is staffed not by human baristas, but by robots, which it says "emulate the motions of a champion barista to precisely prepare...

Get Humans Out of the Cockpit
 Get Humans Out of the Cockpit 
OPINION
Jul 10, 2013 1:55 PM CDT

Get Humans Out of the Cockpit

Holman Jenkins thinks transportation ought to be automated

(Newser) - When a highly automated train crashed into a Quebec town last weekend, its conductor was not on board . Which raises a few questions, writes Holman Jenkins at the Wall Street Journal . Why couldn't the train tell headquarters it had taken off? Why couldn't headquarters stop it from afar?...

Mysterious Metal Orbs Found in Ancient Temple

Robots make an 'unprecedented discovery' in Mexico

(Newser) - Mysterious artifacts, ancient temples, robots: This story has the makings of an amazing sci-fi film. Archaeologists have discovered hundreds of metallic orbs in a Teotihuacan pyramid in Mexico, reports Discovery News . Made of pyrite, they would have once been spectacular glowing spheres, say researchers. "They look like yellow spheres,...

Robots Are Taking Our Jobs
 Robots Are Taking Our Jobs 
Paul Krugman
Dec 10, 2012 1:03 PM CST

Robots Are Taking Our Jobs

Paul Krugman and the Financial Times discuss the impact of technology on labor

(Newser) - Corporate profits are soaring in the US, yet the economy is depressed. Why? Because capital is doing fine at the expense of labor, Paul Krugman observes in today's New York Times . Yes, that sounds like "an old-fashioned, almost Marxist sort of discussion," but it's the reality...

Rights Group: Time to Ban Killer Robots

International treaty needed before it's too late, group says

(Newser) - The world needs to ban robots capable of killing without human input before they become a reality on the battlefield, a human rights group warns. Human Rights Watch and Harvard's International Human Rights Clinic are calling for an international treaty to ban the "development, production and use of...

Holy Grail of Robots: One to Debone a Chicken

Apparently, it's harder to design than it seems

(Newser) - It would be the "Holy Grail" of robots, a real "game-changer," experts say: a robot that can … debone a chicken?! Yes, though robots can already fly planes, locate bombs, and help with surgeries, apparently years of technological advances have still failed to produce a robot that...

Inside Google X Lab: Office Robots, Space Elevators

'Google X' lab envisions future of technology

(Newser) - To Google is to search, but in the future it could mean much more. Google operates a secret lab in the Bay Area devoted to projects far beyond the cutting-edge: ideas like robots that go to the office for you and dinner plates that communicate with your social network, the...

Soon, Drones Could Kill Without Human Guidance

Tests already under way for robot killers of the future

(Newser) - Could robots be the soldiers of the future? The Pentagon is currently working on drones that can identify—and will eventually be able to eliminate—targets without any human controlling them. The Washington Post details a demonstration last fall in which a pair of model-sized planes, working in tandem, located...

Robot Detects Radiation Still Too High for Japan Workers

But Tepco officials say this will not affect their reactor shutdown plans

(Newser) - An American robot sent into the crippled nuclear reactor buildings at Fukushima Dai-ichi has detected radiation levels too high for workers to enter, more than a month after a quake and tsunami crippled the plant, reports the AP . Reactor Unit 1 measured 49 millisieverts per hour, and Unit 3 reached...

Roomba Maker Shows Robot Industry's Potential

IRobot branching out beyond vaccums

(Newser) - Whether you need to measure radiation levels, go into battle, or clean the living room rug, IRobot Corp. apparently has the gizmo for you. The LA Times profiles the Roomba vacuum maker and sees its success as a sign that the robot industry "is becoming more mainstream." So-called...

Don't Fire Up Nuclear Plants Without Robots

William Saletan: They must be resistant to radiation and ready to go

(Newser) - An easy first lesson is emerging from Japan's nuclear mess: No nuclear reactors should be in operation anywhere unless they have robots ready to fend off disaster, writes William Saletan in Slate . He's not talking about run-of-the-mill robots that replace humans at menial tasks. He means expensive, radiation-resistant robots that...

Japan Has Robots All Over —Except at Nuke Plant

Humans are still being asked to risk their lives

(Newser) - Japan has built robots for all kinds of distinctly human tasks—from playing instruments to officiating at weddings—but none have been used in this nuclear mess, notes Reuters . Instead, humans are still being asked to risk their lives. Robots are common elsewhere in the nuclear industry, so what gives?...

Online Gambling: Poker Bots Are the New Gambler
 The New Gambler: Poker Bots  
Mar 14, 2011 2:57 PM CDT

The New Gambler: Poker Bots

But they still can't beat the best humans

(Newser) - Online poker’s not just for humans anymore: Robots have entered the game, and they’re winning tens of thousands, the New York Times reports. Such bots have existed for a while—but only recently have they gotten good at the game, thanks to advances in artificial intelligence. Top game...

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