Robotics

Robotics

An image of a blue, yellow, and green cell.
The bots started as windpipe cells, yet they helped nerve cells repair and grow.
two hands reaching out to each other in front of a colorful background.
Sophia, the humanoid robot, is not just mirroring emotions; she's leading a revolution in emotional intelligence.
John Templeton Foundation
A golden age robotics-inspired drawing of a human body on paper.
In history, every major technological advance has been used, for good and bad.
a couple of heads with different colors and shapes.
The idea that consciousness emerges naturally alongside intelligence could be an anthropocentric distortion.
a painting of a man and a woman sitting on a bench.
From cosmetic procedures to heart operations, the introduction of AI will create an ethical minefield.
three robots
Named "Phoenix," this AI-powered humanoid could be your next coworker.
a close up of a rock with holes in it.
A next-generation instrument on a delayed rover may be the key to answering the question of life on Mars.
a large machine
The robot can drive heavy steal beams into the ground at a rate of 1 per 73 seconds, which will help expedite solar farm construction.
a group of people standing in front of a large UFO
Perhaps we should be searching for “other Mercurys” rather than “other Earths.”
a fighter jet flying over a mountain range.
Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works engineering division has devised many jaw-dropping aircraft. Here are some of the best — and one ship.
a statue of a person sitting in front of flowers.
Modern robotics are creating a kind of cultural paradox, where the best religion is the one that eventually involves no humans at all.
"It can truly allow you to see the physical world in ways that were not possible before."
In a state of "hyperwar," accidents or unexpected AI decisions could lead to widespread devastation before humans could intervene.
fastest shoes
They cost $1,400 and will make you feel like you’re always on a moving sidewalk.
krispy kreme
Automation could help fix the company's financial troubles.
automated mcdonalds
The automated McDonald's has a staff comparable to other stores. But the crew members are all focused on making and packaging orders instead of delivering them.
"Lethal autonomous weapon" sounds friendlier than "killer robot."
Flexible organic circuits might someday hook right into your head.
5mins
Jimena Canales shares the “demons” that shaped computer science.
In the future, people may look back with horror at how humans treated AI in the 21st century.
More than any other nation, Japan tends to feel comfortable with the idea of humanoid robots entering the home.
Illustration of large, mechanical tripod machines with glowing eyes detecting life as they shoot a beam of light at a smoking building, causing sparks and destruction.
The emergence of life in the universe is as certain as the emergence of matter, gravity, and the stars. Life is the universe developing a memory, and our chemical detection system could find it.
John Templeton Foundation
futurama
The fictitious 31st-century world portrayed by the series is actually quite a bit like our own in the 21st century.
mechanical turk
An elaborate device called the Mechanical Turk defeated Benjamin Franklin and Napoleon Bonaparte at chess. Edgar Allan Poe revealed the hoax.
Agnieszka Pilat Boston Dynamics
The so-called "court painter of Silicon Valley" was shaped by her youth in communist Poland but looks forward to a future ruled by celebrity robots. 
what aliens look like
We should not expect aliens to look anything like us. Creatures that resemble octopuses or birds or even robots are legitimate possibilities.
Will all robots think like Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg?