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Robots have started to share the bike lane in Austin to deliver pizza

Jul 9, 2021
Some cyclists aren't happy about the new arrangement, but others say it may put a new focus on bicycle infrastructure.
Riley Pakes, with Refraction AI robotics company, monitors a REV-1 delivery robot on South Congress Avenue in Austin, TX on June 16, 2021.
Gabriel C. Pérez/KUT News

The human labor behind artificial intelligence

May 4, 2021
Behind every artificial intelligence project is lot of intensive human labor. Marketplace speaks to data labelers in central China.
Data labeling firms like this one in Henan province are the new factory floor of the digital age.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace

Biden wants to nearly double U.S. spending on science

Mar 29, 2021
The president says he'd like to increase spending to about 2% of the country's GDP — closer to what it was in the 1960s.
Artificial intelligence, like the AI used in these robots, is one of the main areas of scientific research this spending would go towards.
Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

Hyundai reportedly buying robot-maker Boston Dynamics

Dec 10, 2020
If the deal goes through, it would be the third time in seven years that Boston Dynamics has been bought.
People take pictures and videos of Spot, Boston Dynamics' robot dog, during a presentation on the last day of the Web Summit in Lisbon in 2019.
Patricia de Melo Moreira/AFP via Getty Images

Are businesses automating at a faster rate thanks to COVID-19?

Oct 21, 2020
A forced digitization is taking place, as is a rethinking of how business should get done.
A bartender makes drinks at an event promoting AI in London last year.
Leon Neal/Getty Images

An algorithm determines gig workers' pay — and they don't like it

Jul 13, 2020
Gig workers' livelihoods are increasingly ruled by mysterious — and unpredictable — software.
Drivers protest Uber and Lyft pay policies at LAX in 2019.
Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images

Robots use game theory to understand how we think

Apr 30, 2020
Robots are doing their part in this pandemic — and they're using behavioral economics.
Robots are helping hospital staff manage the influx of COVID-19 patients. Pictured: An Indonesian technician listens to a robot known as Amy during a simulation on assisting medical teams.
Adek Berry/AFP via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Coronavirus: Can artificial intelligence be smart enough to detect fake news?

Feb 12, 2020
Misinformation has been spreading online, in some places seemingly faster than the disease itself.
Apple's new privacy labels on apps are like nutritional labels: They're there to read, but will people pay attention?
Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Big data predicted the coronavirus outbreak and where it would spread

Feb 4, 2020
Using AI as a warning system for outbreaks isn't just for government.
A sign at London Heathrow Airport on Jan. 28 warns of the coronavirus outbreak in China.
Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP via Getty Images

How Hollywood is using AI predictions in business decisions

Jan 21, 2020
Although the algorithms can crunch numbers and other data, they can't quite crack creativity.
Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images