June 19, 2025

Is this the electric grid of the future?

One morning in the middle of March, a slow-moving spring blizzard stalled above eastern Nebraska, pounding the state capital of Lincoln with 60-mile-per-hour winds, driving sleet, and up to eight inches of snow. Lincoln Electric System, the local electric utility, has approximately 150,000 customers. By lunchtime, nearly 10% of them were without power. Ice was…

Why the humanoid workforce is running late

May 6, 2025
On Thursday I watched Daniela Rus, one of the world’s top experts on AI-powered robots, address a packed room at a Boston robotics expo. Rus spent a portion of her talk busting the notion that giant fleets of humanoids are already making themselves useful in manufacturing and warehouses around the world.  That might come as…

Blinq lands $25M to further its mission to make business cards passé

May 6, 2025
It’s 2025, but business cards are still in vogue — just visit any conference or industry expo and you’ll end up with a pile that’s likely to be discarded sooner than later. But as smartphones have become our repositories of information and contacts, people are understandably keen to try out digital alternatives to business cards. […]

Musk clashes with neighbors in exclusive Austin suburb

May 6, 2025
Elon Musk may have a sizable fan base, but residents of the upscale Austin suburb of West Lake Hills, Texas, are unimpressed by their celebrity neighbor, reports the New York Times. Instead, a $6 million home Musk purchased in 2022 has become the center of a battle after his team erected an unauthorized 16-foot chain-link […]

Employer.com scoops up another fintech in purchase of MainStreet.com

May 6, 2025
Employer.com has acquired MainStreet.com for an undisclosed amount, the latest fintech startup to get snapped up by the workforce management company. In a post on X, Employer.com Chairman and co-founder Jesse Tinsley said the two companies were “merging forces to simplify business back office solutions into one powerhouse platform.” Tinsley confirmed the acquisition to TechCrunch. […]

Waymo ramps up robotaxi production at new Arizona factory

May 5, 2025
Waymo has played coy for years about exactly how many Jaguar I-Pace EVs are in its autonomous fleet — a figure that covers vehicles used in testing and commercial robotaxi operations. On Monday, the Alphabet company finally provided a peek at the commercial side of the fleet. Waymo said Monday, as part of a larger […]

Uber and WeRide set their robotaxi sights on 15 more cities

May 5, 2025
Uber and Chinese autonomous vehicle technology company WeRide plan to expand a commercial robotaxi partnership and bring the service to another 15 cities over the next five years. The expansion comes five months after the two companies launched a commercial robotaxi service in Abu Dhabi.  The companies said the expansion will include cities in Europe. Under […]

FTC bans hidden fees for live events and short-term rentals, effective May 12

May 5, 2025
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Monday released new documentation detailing its new “Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees.” The rule, set to take effect on May 12, prohibits hidden fees for live events, hotels, and short-term rentals. It also bans practices such as “bait-and-switch pricing” and any actions that conceal or misrepresent total prices […]

People struggle to get useful health advice from chatbots, study finds

May 5, 2025
With long waiting lists and rising costs in overburdened healthcare systems, many people are turning to AI-powered chatbots like ChatGPT for medical self-diagnosis. About 1 in 6 American adults already use chatbots for health advice at least monthly, according to one recent survey. But placing too much trust in chatbots’ outputs can be risky, in […]