Robots

A small AI-powered robot in China has sparked both fear and fascination after it successfully persuaded 12 larger showroom robots to “quit their jobs” and follow it, as seen in a viral surveillance video.

Tesla’s Optimus robots, which played a significant role in Elon Musk’s extravagant robotaxi reveal last week, were not fully autonomous and relied on human intervention, according to attendees and analysts.

China’s largest-ever military drills with Cambodia on Thursday included a showcase performance by the literal dogs of war — a squad of robot dogs with automatic rifles mounted on their backs.

In a bizarre twist that seems straight out of a dystopian sci-fi movie, U.S. residents can now legally purchase a flame-throwing robot dog named Thermonator for just under $10,000.

The tech firm Nvidia unveiled a series of AI-powered, potentially self-reliant robots at a recent exhibition.

A robotics startup named Figure has showcased a humanoid robot that integrates OpenAI’s advanced language technology, enabling it to engage in real-time conversations and perform tasks simultaneously.

Jeff Bezos, Nvidia, and other major technology players have reportedly invested $675 million into Figure AI, a startup building human-like robots.

Amazon is reportedly testing humanoid robots and a new sorting technology, aiming to enhance automation and efficiency in its warehouses. The technologies could have a troubling impact on the number of humans employed in the e-commerce giant’s extensive network of warehouses.

A Kroger grocery store in Tennessee has recently converted to self-checkouts only. There will reportedly be no cashiers or baggers present. The company claims the move will not result in store employees losing their jobs.

In a significant move towards the mass commercialization of autonomous delivery, Serve Robotics is set to deploy up to 2,000 of its sidewalk delivery robots on the Uber Eats platform across multiple U.S. markets.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently predicted that AI-powered humanoid robots produced by the electric car company will one day outnumber humans. Musk has faced criticism following October’s completely underwhelming introduction of the Optimus robot.

A supermarket robot escaped from its store recently in Hellertown, Pennsylvania, and was spotted in the parking lot.

FedEx is shutting down its robotic same-day delivery service. A human in a FedEx uniform will now be delivering those packages instead. According to a leaked memo, “Roxo” the robot “did not meet necessary near-term value requirements.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed a prototype of the company’s “Optimus” robot that features some AI software and sensors also used in Tesla cars. The robot did little more than wave at the audience after months of hype by Musk, leading to mockery on social media.

A robot designed and developed at Oregon State University has broken the Guinness World for the fastest 100-meter run by a bipedal robot, according to Oregon State University’s College of Engineering.

A California robot creation, now in Texas, offers faster and cheaper manicures.

A Russian chess-playing robot recently grabbed the finger of a seven-year-old opponent and broke during the Moscow Open chess tournament. The VP of the Russian Chess Federation blamed the child for making his move too quickly.

Researchers at China’s Nankai University claimed this week that they successfully cloned pigs through an entirely automated process for the first time in March, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on Thursday.

President Donald Trump’s low-migration policies have helped push U.S. farms to invest in a new generation of labor-saving, high-wage “revolutionary” farm robots, according to the New York Times.

China’s state-run Global Times on Thursday triumphantly announced the deployment of intimidating robot arms to perform throat swab coronavirus tests “with reasonable sampling accuracy and efficiency.” 

Chipotle has reportedly begun testing the use of an AI-driven robot named Chippy which is tasked with creating the company’s tortilla chips in place of human employees. 

The World Economic Forum released a video in which “futurists” predict what human life will look like after the so-called Great Reset.

Agriculture investors are trying to block wage gains and to minimize technology investment by sneaking a cheap-labor, farmworker amnesty bill through the Senate.

Car manufacturer Hyundai has reportedly acquired Boston Dynamics, the robotics company best known for creating robot “dogs” that have been used by police departments around the world.

MIAMI, Florida — A local third-generation Cuban-American restaurant chain is integrating robots in with its waitstaff as an answer to the workforce depletion it has seen in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez seemingly accused the New York Police Department of racism after it deployed a robotic dog to fight crime in “low-income communities of color.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took to Twitter Thursday afternoon for an indictment of “robotic dogs” used to aid police visibility on crime scenes.

Fast-food workers in 15 cities across the United States plan to strike Friday, hoping to convince the incoming Biden administration to raise the federal minimum wage. 

Agriculture department officials have announced they will not conduct a routine annual survey on wages in the farm sector, likely helping agriculture employers to suppress wages for the expected supply of 230,000 H-2A workers in 2021.

The coronavirus pandemic could potentially see jobs for humans  permanently replaced with machines according to a new study from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Jobs that are at risk of disappearing include retail salespersons, parking attendants, slaughterhouse workers, and toll collectors.

President Donald Trump’s low-immigration strategy has pushed the nation’s low-wage meatpacking companies into a high-tech future, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal.

Boston University announced this week that it will be using “specialized robots” to test students for the Chinese virus upon their return to campus this fall. The university also announced that it will utilize contact tracing to mitigate the spread of the virus on campus.

Burger-flipping robots are changing the food service industry by offering their skills to restaurants for about $3 an hour.

Injured Amazon workers and labor organizers have begun protesting the dangerous work speeds and high injury rates of the company’s warehouses.

Deutsche Bank claims that it will use artificial intelligence and “robots” to achieve its goal of terminating 18,000 employees.

The maker of the Roomba robotic vacuum has filed a lawsuit against a startup company called SharkNinja, claiming it is infringing on its patents for smart home cleaning devices. According to iRobot, which manufactures the Roomba, SharkNinja rushed “its copycat product in time for the holiday season.”