Technology

Ema, a ‘Universal AI employee’, emerges from stealth with $25M

March 5, 2024

Generative AI well and truly has a grip on public technology discourse these days. A new startup called Ema out of San Francisco thinks it’s a lot more than just a passing fancy. It’s emerging from stealth today, with a product of the same name, that it believes will open a new chapter in how […]

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The Download: rise of the robots, and what organoids can teach us

March 5, 2024
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. The robots are coming. And that’s a good thing. —This is an excerpt from a new book, The Heart and the Chip: Our Bright Future with Robots, by MIT CSAIL director Daniela Rus …

 Nobody knows how AI works

March 5, 2024
This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here. I’ve been experimenting with using AI assistants in my day-to-day work. The biggest obstacle to their being useful is they often get things blatantly wrong. In one case, I used an…

The robots are coming. And that’s a good thing.

March 5, 2024
In this excerpt from the new book, The Heart and the Chip: Our Bright Future with Robots, CSAIL Director Daniela Rus explores how robots can extend the reach of human capabilities. Years ago, I befriended the biologist Roger Payne at a meeting of MacArthur Foundation fellows. Roger, who died in 2023, was best known for…

Roundtables: The AI Economy

March 4, 2024
Recorded on August 10, 2023 The AI Economy Speakers: Mat Honan, Editor in chief and David Rotman, Editor at large There’s no doubt that generative AI will impact the economy—but how, exactly, remains an open question. Despite fears that these AI tools will upend workers and exacerbate wealth inequality, early evidence suggests the technology could…

Roundtables: How should we regulate AI?

March 4, 2024
Recorded on September 12, 2023 How should we regulate AI? Speakers: Melissa Heikkilä, Senior reporter for AI and Charlotte Jee, News editor There’s little doubt that artificial intelligence will be subject to more regulation in the years ahead. Major tech companies have requested it, and multiple countries and regions are now moving forward with plans…

Roundtables: How does AI work?

March 4, 2024
Recorded on October 11, 2023 How does AI work? Speakers: Mary Beth Griggs, Science editor and Will Douglas Heaven, Sr Editor for AI Everyone’s talking about large language models and image generators built on artificial intelligence. Many people have tested out tools like ChatGPT or DALL-E 2 and been amazed at the results, or disturbed…

Roundtables: Future of Families: How reproductive technology can reverse population decline

March 4, 2024
Recorded on November 28, 2023 Future of Families: How reproductive technology can reverse population decline Speakers: Antonio Regalado, Sr Editor of biomedicine and special guest Martín Varsavsky, Founder of Prelude Fertility Birth rates have been plummeting in wealthy countries, well below the “replacement” rate. Even in China, a dramatic downturn in the number of babies…

Advancing AI innovation with cutting-edge solutions  

March 4, 2024
AI is helping organizations in nearly every industry increase productivity, engage customers, realize operational efficiencies, and gain a competitive edge. Advances in supercomputing in the cloud and the ability to achieve processing at an exascale level are major catalysts for this new era of AI innovation. Common AI use cases today include personalized healthcare and…