Figure AI details plan to improve humanoid robot safety in the workplace

Safety is often overlooked in the rush to bring humanoid robots to the workplace. As high-profile corporations ranging from retailers like Amazon to carmakers such as Mercedes and BMW have announced humanoid pilots for factories and warehouses, conversations around worker safety are regularly buried beneath industry hype. One Bay Area-robotics firm is hoping to correct […]
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Bookshop.org challenges Amazon with new e-book platform

Indie bookstore backer Bookshop.org launched an e-book platform on Tuesday, making it easier for readers to buy e-books without padding Jeff Bezos’s pockets. For years, Amazon’s chokehold and sway in the publishing industry have been so strong that authors and booksellers have accused the company of operating a monopoly. Amazon is dominant in the sale […]
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Hugging Face researchers are trying to build a more open version of DeepSeek’s AI ‘reasoning’ model

Barely a week after DeepSeek released its R1 “reasoning” AI model — which sent markets into a tizzy — researchers at Hugging Face are trying to replicate the model from scratch in what they’re calling a pursuit of “open knowledge.” Hugging Face head of research Leandro von Werra and several company engineers have launched Open-R1, a […]
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Amazon’s Prime Air drone service is headed to this UK town

Amazon announced Monday it has picked the north England town of Darlington as the first site for its planned U.K. drone delivery expansion. Amazon was expected to expand Prime Air to the U.K. and Italy in 2024. After missing that initial target, the company opted to not share a timeline for this latest launch. Instead, […]
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Waymo begins testing robotaxis on LA freeways

Waymo robotaxis have become a common sight on Los Angeles surface streets. Now, those driverless vehicles are heading to the city’s network of freeways. The Alphabet-owned autonomous vehicle technology company said Tuesday it will begin testing its fleet of robotaxis on the Los Angeles freeway system, including Interstates 10, 110, 405, and the 90. These […]
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Google employees petition for ‘job security’ ahead of expected cuts 

Google employees have begun a petition for “job security” after CFO Anat Ashkenazi in October said the company could “push a little further” with cost cuts.

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Reelo stands out among the apps building a ‘TikTok for Bluesky’

There are a number of projects now underway that are focused on developing a video-first app for the open source social network Bluesky. However, one stands out from the rest: An upcoming app called Reelo isn’t building on top of the Bluesky social network, as so many others are, but is building on the underlying […]
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Boom’s XB-1 becomes first civil aircraft to go supersonic

Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 demonstrator plane just went supersonic in the skies over California’s Mojave desert, making it the first civil aircraft to break the sound barrier. The American startup’s plane notched the historic achievement in its twelfth test flight. It cleared Mach 1 and stayed supersonic for around four minutes, reaching Mach 1.1. Test pilot […]
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How China Is Reacting to DeepSeek Upending the A.I. Race

Social media exploded in a celebration after the news that a Chinese start-up had made an artificial intelligence tool that was more efficient than any in the United States.

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GM expects to save up to $1 billion on Cruise costs

General Motors expects to save up to $1 billion annually by ending its Cruise robotaxi development program, CEO and Chair Mary Barra said Tuesday during the company’s earnings call.  The estimate comes nearly two months after the automaker said it would no longer fund Cruise, its self-driving subsidiary that aimed to commercialize robotaxis. “GM has […]
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