Dozens of companies including national leisure centre chains are reviewing or pulling facial recognition technology and fingerprint scanning used to monitor staff attendance after a clampdown by the UK's data watchdog. In February, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) ordered a Serco subsidiary to stop using biometrics to monitor the attendance of staff at leisure centres it operates and also issued more stringent guidance on the use of facial recognition and fingerprint scanning. The ICO found that the biometric data of more than 2,000 employees had been unlawfully processed at 38 centres managed by Serco Leisure to check their attendance using facial recognition technology and in two cases via fingerprint scanning systems. Serco was given three months by the ICO to make its systems compliant and has said it will fully comply within that period. In light of the ICO decision, a number of other leisure centre operators and companies are either reviewing or stopping use of similar biometric technology to monitor staff attendance.

Thousands of four-wheeled robots will soon drop off burritos, salads and other food orders placed with Uber Eats. Robotics company Serve has been working with the delivery giant since 2021, and the firms announced Tuesday they are ready to unleash 2,000 self-driving bots in major US cities starting in 2026. The small AI-powered machines can carry up to 50 pounds of merchandise for 25 miles on a single charge, which Serve said is enough power for dozens of deliveries in one day. Select customers who place food orders via the Uber Eats app may receive the option to deliver their orders by a Serve robot. The partnership will provide customers with contact-free deliveries.

China has developed a new drone that functions in air and water. The year 2023 is turning out to be the year of drone delivery. Several startups have been hard at work testing, learning and honing their ability to deploy a network of drones for efficient delivery. Instant gratification in getting a last-minute item, prescription drug and fast food in record time are some of the focuses anticipated to drive initial demand. Food delivery has grown immensely in popularity, especially since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Uber Eats has expanded autonomous food deliveries to Miami under a new partnership with robotics company Cartken. AI-powered robots will start making deliveries from select retailers in the Miami suburb of Dadeland today. The companies plan to expand autonomous deliveries to other parts of Miami-Dade County and more cities in 2023. Uber Eats started two autonomous delivery pilots in Los Angeles in May after teaming up with Motional and Serve Robotics (which spun out of Uber). In September, Uber Eats agreed a 10-year deal with Nuro for autonomous food deliveries, beginning in Texas and California.

On 8 July 2022, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was delivering a political campaign speech outside the Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara City, Japan, when a man approached and shot him in the back using a homemade firearm. Even before Abe died from his injuries, footage of the assassination had been posted online. Social media users began to speculate as to the identity and motive of the killer. On the internet forum 4chan, a site notorious for its anarchic, often hateful trolling, an anonymous user posted a photograph of the video game director Hideo Kojima, claiming this "left-wing extremist" was the perpetrator. If the post was intended to bait the gullible, it worked.

Dean Apostolopoulos is the man behind Uber's autonomous robots, but his goal of a driverless delivery is about more than food.

Uber has unveiled plans to trial autonomous'sidewalk robots' to deliver food to people's doorsteps. The US ride-hailing giant announced the idea as part of a raft of new features and services for its customers. These included an option for those in certain cities to specifically request a ride in an electric car, which Uber said was part of its global commitment to becoming a zero-emissions mobility platform by 2040. Comfort Electric is now available in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Dubai, with more cities to come soon. The sidewalk robot concept is one of two autonomous delivery pilot programs being trialled in California.

Uber continues to show that it has grand ambitions that go far beyond the ride-sharing service that it first became known for. At the company's second annual, product-focused Go/Get event, Uber announced a host of new features focused primarily on expanding its offerings in both the travel and delivery categories. Travel may sound obvious, given Uber's background, but probably the most notable new offering is simply called Uber Travel; its focus is helping you get around when you're not in your home city. It's an integration with Gmail that can pull details out of your inbox like hotel, flight and restaurant reservations and group it together in the Uber app. The point, of course, is that you can then schedule rides for each of these events, and Uber will give 10 percent back in Uber Cash when you do.

Uber Eats is launching not just one but two autonomous delivery pilots today in Los Angeles, TechCrunch has reported. The first is via an autonomous vehicle partnership with Motional, originally announced in December, and the second is with sidewalk delivery firm Serve Robotics, a company that spun out of Uber itself. The trials will be limited, with deliveries from just a few merchants including the Kreation juicery and organic cafe. Serve will do short delivery routes in West Hollywood, while Motional will take care of longer deliveries in Santa Monica. "We'll be able to learn from both of those pilots what customers actually want, what merchants actually want and what makes sense for delivery," an Uber spokesperson told TechCrunch.

Super Bowl advertisers this year want Americans to forget about pandemic woes and focus on the future: of electric vehicles, mind-reading Alexas, robots and cryptocurrency, and also to harken back to the nostalgic past of '90s movies like Austin Powers and The Cable Guy. The Los Angeles Rams will take on the Cincinnati Bengals during Super Bowl 56 on Sunday at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. But for many, the big show of the night will be the commercials. Advertisers are hoping to deliver a dose of escapism with light humour and star-studded entertainment amid the pandemic, high inflation and tensions between Russia and Ukraine. "Marketers are recognising Americans have had a very heavy, difficult two-year period and are responding by bringing some good old-fashioned entertainment for Super Bowl Sunday," said Kimberly Whitler, marketing professor at the University of Virginia.