People are scared of not being in control. That's partly why so many of us are more scared of flying than of driving: we're not the one flying the plane. Even though the drive to the airport is actually more dangerous than the flight, it feels safer, because we're in control. So it's probably not surprising that, as i reported this week, the public is wary about autonomous vehicles (AVs), also known as self-driving cars. A study by British researchers found that more than half of people were uncomfortable with either using them or sharing a road with them.

The robot arm hovers over a pile of products before it makes its move, snagging a toothbrush with its suction cup. It holds the product up, waits for the red flash of a barcode scanner, then turns and drops the toothbrush in a cubby hole. Next the arm suction-cups a box of Goldfish crackers, turns, and files it, too. At a startup called Kindred in San Francisco, technicians are teaching robots how to precisely manipulate objects like these. Because somebody's got one hell of an online shopping habit.