Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems and the University of Colorado Boulder have developed a soft shape display, a robot that can rapidly and precisely change its surface geometry to interact with objects and liquids, react to human touch, and display letters and numbers – all at the same time. The display demonstrates high performance applications and could appear in the future on the factory floor, in medical laboratories, or in your own home. Imagine an iPad that's more than just an iPad--with a surface that can morph and deform, allowing you to draw 3D designs, create haiku that jump out from the screen and even hold your partner's hand from an ocean away. In a new study published in Nature Communications, they've created a one-of-a-kind shape-shifting display that fits on a card table. The device is made from a 10-by-10 grid of soft robotic "muscles" that can sense outside pressure and pop up to create patterns.

The use of artificial intelligence in the hiring process has increased in recent years with companies turning to automated assessments, digital interviews, and data analytics to parse through resumes and screen candidates. But as IT strives for better diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), it turns out AI can do more harm than help if companies aren't strategic and thoughtful about how they implement the technology. "The bias usually comes from the data. If you don't have a representative data set, or any number of characteristics that you decide on, then of course you're not going to be properly, finding and evaluating applicants," says Jelena Kovačević, IEEE Fellow, William R. Berkley Professor, and Dean of the NYU Tandon School of Engineering. The chief issue with AI's use in hiring is that, in an industry that has been predominantly male and white for decades, the historical data on which AI hiring systems are built will ultimately have an inherent bias.