Culture Aug 24, 2021
Are you ready for sentient Disney robots?
by Brooks Barnes
The Magic Kingdom knows the nostalgia of herky-jerky animatronics won’t cut it with today’s children.
Business / Tech Aug 5, 2019
Israeli army in no rush to go fully robotic as it puts sealed tanks through their paces
Israel, a world leader in hi-tech, is around 30 years away from its ambition of deploying robot forces, and for now will chose between three prototypes of semi-automated armored vehicles to cocoon its troops in battle, defense officials said on Sunday. Israel has long eyed ...
Business Jul 11, 2019
Walmart Inc. is facing a strike by thousands of workers in South America amid the retail giant's push to increase automation at its physical stores. About 17,000 Walmart workers in Chile went on an indefinite strike on Wednesday after labor talks between the company and ...
Business / Corporate Apr 24, 2019
Laundry-phobics' dreams crushed as Tokyo-based developer of Laundroid robot files for bankruptcy
by Kazuaki Nagata
When Seven Dreamers Laboratories Inc. unveiled its prototype laundry-folding robot in 2015, it generated a buzz, with people saying they couldn't wait to buy one if it ever went to market. But the AI-based tidying device dubbed Laundroid is apparently coming to an end before ...
Commentary / World Mar 16, 2019
Robot overlords wouldn't be the worst
by Faye Flam
Issues | LAW OF THE LAND Mar 6, 2019
Robot rights: From Asimov to Tezuka
by Colin P.A. Jones
Asimov's "Three Laws of Robotics" are fictional rules, so why do we keep looking to them for guidance? The closest thing to real-world robot law we could have more seems likely to develop around the question of when autonomous military drones can make "kill" ...
Voices | FOREIGN AGENDA Oct 14, 2018
Do the elderly and disabled people in Japan want robots to look after them?
by Michael Gillan Peckitt
What appears to be lacking are detailed surveys and studies, asking questions of the elderly and disabled people whose quality of life Japan's new legion of robots are supposed to improve.
Commentary / World Sep 17, 2018
Education in the age of automation
by Lee Jong-Wha
The outcome of the race between technology and education will determine whether the opportunities presented by major innovations are seized, and whether the benefits of progress are widely shared.
Books / Reviews | RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN Aug 4, 2018
'Plum Rains' is entertaining, provocative and eerily plausible
by Suzanne Kamata
In this complex sci-fi novel, Andromeda Romano-Lax weaves in issues of robotics, kamikaze pilots and Japan's dependence on foreign healthcare workers.
World / Social Issues Jul 30, 2018
From robots to girl power, getting Cameroon's women into work
by Inna Lazareva
With a flash of green light, a robot sputters and whizzes across the room, obeying the remote control commands 15-year-old Xaviera Nguefo and her team send its way. It is a scene that would not look out of place in a futuristic sci-fi fantasy, but ...
Commentary / World Jul 16, 2018
Robots will make life grim for the working class
by Noah Smith
Cheap technology will sweep away lots of jobs. That's an argument for a better safety net.