It’s the type of experience expected at a top-rated restaurant: Diners gaze at produce growing in a hydroponic garden next to the kitchen. Behind plexiglass, herbs are carefully plucked in anticipation of being added to every plate. This high-tech take on farm-to-table, however, is being built for the cafeteria of a New York City public... Continue Reading →
In the spring of 2017, Urmila Mahadev found herself in what most graduate students would consider a pretty sweet position. She had just solved a major problem in quantum computation, the study of computers that derive their power from the strange laws of quantum physics. Combined with her earlier papers, Mahadev’s new result, on what... Continue Reading →
Donald Trump and the Republican candidates he is struggling to shore up in the election are so afraid of the momentum in favor of Medicare for All that they are now lying about this practically, economically, and morally necessary health-care reform. It is always troubling when a president lies. It is also troubling when the... Continue Reading →
Each time there’s a headline about driverless trucking technology, another piece is taken out of the old equation. First, an Uber/Otto truck’s safety driver went hands-off once the truck reached the highway (and said truck successfully delivered its valuable cargo of 50,000 beers). Then, Starsky Robotics announced its trucks would start making autonomous deliveries without... Continue Reading →
A New York man is under arrest for allegedly plotting to blow himself up on the National Mall on election day. Paul Rosenfeld, 56, wanted to kill himself to draw attention to his “radical political beliefs,” authorities said. “As alleged, Paul M. Rosenfeld concocted a twisted plan to draw attention to his political ideology by... Continue Reading →
A vulnerability in the Google+ social network exposed the personal data of up to 500,000 people using the site between 2015 and March 2018, the search giant acknowledged Monday. Google said it found no evidence of data misuse. Still, as part of the response to the incident, Google plans to shut down the social network... Continue Reading →
A spacecraft designed to eventually replace many spacewalking astronaut activities passed two key pressure tests in September, representatives from the company building the spacecraft told Space.com in an exclusive interview. The spacecraft concept from Maryland-based Genesis Engineering Solutions is just big enough for one person; an astronaut would float inside the spacecraft for several hours... Continue Reading →
Iron Ox isn’t like most robotics companies. Instead of trying to flog you its technology, it wants to sell you food. As the firm’s cofounder Brandon Alexander puts it: “We are a farm and will always be a farm.” But it’s no ordinary farm. For starters, the company’s 15 human employees share their work space... Continue Reading →
As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes better at performing narrow tasks traditionally done by humans, how will governments create policies to protect peoples’ livelihoods? Should it be up to governments to do so or will it create a new generation of entrepreneurs? Will AI create a new breed of welfare recipients or will it spur governments... Continue Reading →
Elon Musk's dream of hyperloop travel is getting closer to reality. Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) unveiled its first full-size passenger capsule in Cadiz, Spain, on Tuesday. The company, one of several in the race to enact hyperloop technology, said the vessel had been built to scale to transport passengers at super-fast speeds through magnetic tubes.... Continue Reading →
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