Did the First Robot Come from Oz?
Long before chatbots, fiction grappled with rule-bound intelligence, exploring what it means to build and rely on thinking machines.
How America Racialized the Robot
Early robots in the US evolved from symbols of revolt into racialized figures tied to labor and the legacy of slavery.
Can a Robot Become a Pizza Chef?
Tracking the accomplishments of RoDyMan in a valiant attempt to make a pizza.
Editors’ Picks 2018: Sustainability and the Environment
Wildfires in California, floods in Venice, robot-bees, and cows that mitigate climate change.
Do Security Robots Signal the Death of Public Space?
A security robot targets the homeless, raising questions about whether private companies can expand their security detail to public spaces like sidewalks.
Do We Really Need Robot Farmers?
As weather heats up and climate change progresses, fieldwork will grow more hazardous.
Amazon’s Mechanical Turk has Reinvented Research
Online services like Amazon's "Mechanical Turk" have ushered in a golden age in survey research. But is it ethical for researchers to use them?
Do We Have Moral Obligations to Robots?
The recent film Blade Runner 2049 engages with questions raised by Karel Čapek and Isaac Asimov: What do we owe our creations (and what do they owe us)?
Japan’s Solution to Loneliness: Virtual Wives
Japan has always been at the forefront of technological advancement. With a lonely and over-taxed workforce, the country has now introduced the robot wife.