Several Unitree G1 robots remotely operated by human beings punched, kicked, and kneed one another in a fight to the top in what is being billed as "the world's first combat competition exclusively featuring humanoid robots.

For this week's Open Questions column, Cal Newport is filling in for Joshua Rothman. In the spring of 1940, Isaac Asimov, who had just turned twenty, published a short story titled "Strange Playfellow." It was about an artificially intelligent machine named Robbie that acts as a companion for Gloria, a young girl. Asimov was not the first to explore such technology. In Karel Čapek's play "R.U.R.," which débuted in 1921 and introduced the term "robot," artificial men overthrow humanity, and in Edmond Hamilton's 1926 short story "The Metal Giants" machines heartlessly smash buildings to rubble.

After Ukraine launched a sudden drone assault on Russian installations, it brought new attention to the U.S.' own vulnerabilities, regardless of which side the U.S. stood on Kyiv's attack. In recent years, Chinese Communist Party-linked entities have commercially targeted land around the U.S., including in the vicinity of sensitive installations like the Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota. The Fufeng Group's 300-acre farmland purchase in 2021 first raised the collective antennae of Congress to such under-the-radar transactions – and even Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis swiftly banned them in his state as a result, among other efforts around the country. On Tuesday, North Dakota's senators agreed that the U.S. must remain vigilant for any malign activity, whether it be from relatively novel drone assaults to potential espionage through real estate transactions. An explosion of a drone is seen in the sky over the city during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 24, 2025.

Ukraine managed to not only humiliate the Kremlin by boasting of taking out more than a third of all Russian missile carriers in a spectacular drone attack but also to rewrite the rules of modern warfare, analysts say. Despite being outnumbered and outgunned, Kyiv used inexpensive drones at the weekend to destroy Russian nuclear-capable bombers worth billions of dollars in an operation carried out after months of planning. "Spider's Web" dealt a blow to Russia more than three years after its invasion of Ukraine, and the operation will now be studied closely by militaries around the world as a new strategy in asymmetric warfare.

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Russian forces have been using drones to hunt and attack civilians in Ukraine and continue to do so, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). In a report released on Tuesday, HRW stated that the Russian military has repeatedly deployed unmanned drones to attack civilian targets in its more than three-year war with Ukraine. The NGO said that dozens of civilians have been killed and hundreds injured in violation of the laws of war. Referencing video from Russian drones and witnesses and survivors, the rights watchdog alleges that Russia has "deliberately or recklessly" hunted civilians and civilian objects, particularly in the southern city of Kherson, using "commercially available quadcopter drones" made domestically and in China. "Russian drone operators are able to track their targets, with high-resolution video feeds, leaving little doubt that the intent is to kill, maim, and terrify civilians," Belkis Wille, a director on arms and conflict at HRW, said in a statement.

Ukraine's surprise Sunday attack on Russian offensive weapons caches may be a good time for the U.S. to reflect on its own weaknesses, should one of its adversaries attempt a similar strike. Col. Seth Krummrich, a retired Army Special Forces commander and vice president at the Virginia-based security firm Global Guardian, warned that the U.S. remains vulnerable to drone attacks. "Interestingly, it is not a technological gap, it is a policy/authority process to engage and deny drone attacks," Krummrich said. "I assess it will take a major drone strike in the U.S. to change policy." Even civilian operations have a tough time getting approval for drone-interception-authority protections, the NFL excepted, he said.

On Friday, Elon Musk once again pledged to depart his role at DOGE, taking with him his bad personality, weird public behavior, complicated family life, troubled businesses, alleged regular illegal drug use, compulsive social media habits, exploding rockets, messianic conviction that he control all of earth's resources so as to colonize Mars, and a remarkably poor track record in his brief life as a quasi-public servant. He leaves behind the incredible destruction DOGE has wrought, and of course, DOGE itself, which will continue its work, as Project 2025 architect and Office of Management and Budget director Russell Vought reportedly floats making its cuts permanent without the approval of Congress. Even Trump says Musk is "really not leaving." But it would be a mistake to think that Musk's grip on the government is lessening; beyond his continued relationship with the Trump administration, Musk's companies will still have billions in lucrative and influential federal contracts. And as his recent travel shows, there are clear signs that Musk is also using his relationship with President Trump to pursue business, especially in the Middle East.

What message does Ukraine's Operation Spider's Web send to Russia and US? Ukraine carries out large-scale drone strikes on multiple Russian airbases.Read more Eighteen months in the making, Ukraine's Operation Spider's Web saw hundreds of AI-trained drones target military aircraft deep inside Russia's borders. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Sunday's attacks will go down in history. He followed them up with a proposal for an unconditional ceasefire as the two sides met in Istanbul. The European Union is preparing its 18th package of sanctions on Russia, while US President Donald Trump has threatened to use "devastating" measures against Russia if he feels the time is right. So, is the time right now?

Lanyard-clad attendees with branded tote bags and pink-shirted volunteers flowed through London's Brick Lane on Monday, marking the launch of the inaugural SXSW London festival. Taking place over multiple stages and venues in Shoreditch and Hoxton, SXSW London has officially kicked off its first full day of panels, keynotes, demonstrations, movie premieres, and music gigs. And luckily, Londoners are no strangers to a queue, with SXSW's penchant for long lines outside Austin venues replicated in the UK capital. Playing to the strengths of fellow conferences, the biggest topics of SXSW London are the impact of AI on essentially anything you could think of, the creator economy and online communities, and self-driving tech -- I spied a Wayve autonomous vehicle carefully navigating the pedestrian-filled Brick Lane (with a human driver behind the wheel, just in case). London mayor Sadiq Khan officially launched the festival with a speech Monday morning, championing London as "a global centre for AI investment and innovation," emphasising a focus on ethical and accessible AI development, and playing to the audience with a ChatGPT anecdote.