Claire chatted to Elmira Yadollahi from Lancaster University about how children interact with and relate to robots. Elmira Yadollahi is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Lancaster University. She has a joint PhD in robotics and computer science from EPFL in Switzerland and Instituto Superior Técnico in Portugal. Her research tackles explainability in robotics, as well as multimodal perception and explanation methods. Her core expertise is in child-robot interaction, with a focus on expectation management, trust, and AI literacy.

Russia's war death tally spurs European scrutiny on recruitment Ukrainian servicemen prepare before training at an undisclosed location in the country's Donetsk region on Wednesday. The number of Russian soldiers killed in action in the war in Ukraine has jumped in recent weeks, a dynamic that -- if sustained -- could make it hard for the Kremlin to replace troops without some form of mobilization, according to European estimates. In the grim calculus of war, he cited an ambition to raise that number to 50,000 by this summer -- a figure that would roughly double the monthly average calculated by NATO in 2025. The higher lethality is a result of more effective Ukrainian drone operations, with the ratio of killed to wounded skewing recently toward war dead, according to assessments from multiple European governments. With those estimates showing that the number of fatalities has reached the Kremlin's recruitment level, several of the people said the trajectory would make it difficult to replace losses without a mobilization drive.

Mark Gray has worked in automation for the last 30 years, first involved in machine vision and robotics and finally collaborative robots or cobots. As country manager, Mark was the first person to work for Universal Robots in the UK and has carried out projects with many research institutes such as the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), the National Robotarium, and Bristol Robotics Lab. Robot Talk is a weekly podcast that explores the exciting world of robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomous machines. Robot Talk is a weekly podcast that explores the exciting world of robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomous machines. In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Razanne Abu-Aisheh from the University of Bristol about how people feel about interacting with robot swarms.

Amir Patel is an Associate Professor of Robotics & AI in the Department of Computer Science at University College London (UCL). His research uses robotics methods--sensor fusion, computer vision, mechanical modelling, and optimal control--to understand and quantify animal locomotion, especially high-speed predators such as the cheetah, and to translate these insights into bio-inspired machines. Previously, he served on the faculty of Electrical Engineering at the University of Cape Town, where he founded and directed the African Robotics Unit (ARU). Robot Talk is a weekly podcast that explores the exciting world of robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomous machines. Robot Talk is a weekly podcast that explores the exciting world of robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomous machines.

Claire chatted to Christine Evers from University of Southampton about helping robots understand the world around them through sound. Christine Evers is an Associate Professor in Computer Science and Director of the Centre for Robotics at the University of Southampton. Her research pushes the boundaries of machine listening, enabling robots to make sense of life in sound. Her current focus is embedding our understanding of the human auditory process into deep-learning audio architectures. This bio-inspired approach moves away from massive, internet-scale models toward compute-efficient and inherently interpretable systems - opening the door to a new generation of embodied auditory intelligence.

Grok, a chatbot developed by xAI, has faced criticism for churning out incorrect information about recent crises. Washington - Elon Musk's AI tool Grok faced growing international backlash Monday for generating sexualized deepfakes of women and minors, with the European Union joining the condemnation and Britain warning of an investigation. Complaints of abuse flooded the internet after the recent rollout of an "edit image" button on Grok, which enabled users to alter online images with prompts such as "put her in a bikini" or "remove her clothes." The digital undressing spree, which follows growing concerns among tech campaigners over proliferating AI "nudify" apps, prompted swift probes or calls for remedial action from countries including France, India and Malaysia. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

A French soldier uses a drone during a training exercise at a military field near Abu Dhabi on Saturday. Time was, military contractors appealed to equity investors for their stodginess -- predictable revenue, solid profit margins and reliable dividends. While weaponry behemoths like fighter-jet maker Lockheed Martin and missile producer RTX still occupy a key corner of most stock portfolios, they've gotten some company of late -- nimble upstarts more akin to technology firms with lofty valuations and the promise of rapid profit growth. The newcomers at the top of the rankings -- in share price appreciation, if not yet market value -- include drone-maker Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, satellite intelligence outfit Planet Labs PBC and data analytics company Palantir Technologies. Each has seen its stock at least double this year.

Ana Corina Sosa (second from left), receives the Nobel Peace Prize for her mother, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, from the Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Jorgen Watne Frydnes next to a photo of Machado, in Oslo on Wednesday. OSLO - Democracies must be prepared to fight for freedom in order to survive, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado said on Wednesday, in a speech delivered by her daughter during a ceremony Machado could not attend. The Venezuelan opposition leader said that the prize held profound significance, not only for her country but for the world. "It reminds the world that democracy is essential to peace," she said, via her daughter Ana Corina Sosa Machado. "And the most important, the lesson Venezuelans can share with the world, is a lesson forged on a long and difficult path: If we want democracy, we must be prepared to fight for freedom."

Nissan Motor CEO Ivan Espinosa (left) Wayve Technologies CEO Alex Kendall shake hands at a signing ceremony for a collaboration agreement between the two companies in Tokyo on Wednesday. While fully driverless cars remain some way off, the two companies said in a joint statement that their tie-up would help develop systems in real-world conditions. The AI systems made by Wayve, which last year said it had raised more than $1 billion, do not rely on preprogrammed maps but can navigate in real time. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

Japan's bear-related casualties hit record on escalating attacks Bear bells are displayed for sale at a souvenir shop at Shirakawa-go, a popular tourist spot and one of Japan's UNESCO World Heritage sites, in the village of Shirakawa, Gifu Prefecture, on Nov. 15. A record 230 were killed or injured by bears in Japan since April, putting more pressure on the government to intervene as the animals push deeper into areas where people live. Thirteen have died and 217 were injured as a result of bear attacks in the eight months through end-November, according to data released Friday by the environment ministry. The total already exceeds the previous record of 219 for the fiscal year through March 2024. Roughly two-thirds of casualties occurred in the sparsely-populated northern Tohoku region.