One of the curious features of the deep neural networks behind machine learning is that they are surprisingly different from the neural networks in biological systems. While there are similarities, some critical machine-learning mechanisms have no analogue in the natural world, where learning seems to occur in a different way.

Do smart assistants demonstrate, or just mimic, intelligence?

The same algorithm can learn to walk in wildly different ways.

In February of 2011, NASA launched Robonaut 2 to the International Space Station. It was a huge achievement for the robotics team at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. There had been other robots in space, but Robonaut was the first advanced humanoid to ever go on a mission beyond Earth. On board the ISS, the robot was intended to eventually work side by side with astronauts, performing some of the dull and repetitive tasks that take up a significant amount of time that the humans on the station could instead be spending on science and discovery.

Commuters could soon be taken to work in a driverless car which is so clean they could relax on the journey with a cup of tea brewed using water from the tailpipe.

Humans are still far better at grasping and manipulating objects than even the best robot arms. At Kindred AI, people are helping the machines overcome that limitation--by becoming their pilots.

Tue 13 Feb 2018 11.00 EST Last modified on Tue 13 Feb 2018 11.01 EST Drones invoke varying perceptions, from fun gadget to fly in the park to deadly military weapons. In the future, they may even be viewed as a handy tool in the battle to fight climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions from the tra...

Don't be rude to your home devices or there will be retribution. Google Home, Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri and Home Pod, Microsoft Cortana and any other voice operated smart device have something in common. It's not operating systems and it's certainly not the ecosystem in which each resides. What they...

The economic weather has been clearing. In the United States, unemployment stands at a little more than 4 percent; at long last, wages are growing faster than productivity. Investors expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in order to fight the inflation that accompanies full employment. There are even labor shortages in key industries, such as manufacturing, construction, and trucking, according to the Fed. In December, 2.2 percent quit their jobs, the highest rate since 2001. All over the industrialized world, there is good news: Many workers now expect to keep their jobs or find better ones.