When Starbucks announced last month that it was laying off more than 1,000 corporate employees, it highlighted a disturbing trend for white-collar workers: Over the past few years, they have seen a steeper rise in unemployment than other groups, and slower wage growth. It also added fuel to a debate that has preoccupied economists for … Read more
For just over two years, technology leaders at the forefront of developing artificial intelligence had made an unusual request of lawmakers. They wanted Washington to regulate them. The tech executives warned lawmakers that generative A.I., which can produce text and images that mimic human creations, had the potential to disrupt national security and elections, and … Read more
Amber is coveted the world over as both jewelry and a vessel for prehistoric remnants, with rarer specimens preserving ancient water, air bubbles, plants, insects or even birds. Typically, amber forms over millions of years as tree resin fossilizes, but paleontologists have sped that up, creating amber-like fossils from pine resin in 24 hours. The … Read more
The Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings wants more researchers and students to ask deep questions about artificial intelligence and its potential to upend human norms. To that end, Mr. Hastings has donated $50 million to Bowdoin College, his alma mater, to create a research initiative on “A.I. and Humanity” — the largest gift to the liberal … Read more
NASA made a bet a few years ago that commercial companies could take scientific experiments to the moon on a lower budget than the agency could. Last year, that was a bad bet. The first NASA-financed spacecraft missed the moon entirely. The second landed but fell over. But this month, a robotic lander named Blue … Read more
European Union regulators on Wednesday ramped up their efforts to force Apple and Google to change key parts of their businesses, despite potential pushback from the Trump administration over the regulation of American tech companies. The European Commission, the executive branch of the 27-nation bloc, said Apple and Google had violated a law passed in … Read more
The shadow of the Blue Ghost spacecraft after it landed on the moon, with Earth in the distance. Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost just completed its mission, which lasted a full lunar day — two Earth weeks — on the near side of the moon. The spacecraft, about the size of a small car, conducted a … Read more
Listen to and follow ‘Hard Fork’Apple | Spotify | Amazon | YouTube | iHeartRadio With all of Silicon Valley weighing in on the Trump administration’s new action plan for artificial intelligence, Kevin and Casey break down what’s on everybody’s wish list. Then, a Columbia undergrad explains why he built a tool that lets coders use … Read more
In a Netflix documentary released in January, Bryan Johnson, a tech entrepreneur turned longevity guru, walked people through his morning routine. After tracking his sleep, he would wake up early to conduct audio therapy and hair therapy, do an hour of exercise and take 54 different pills with a drink called “the green giant,” he … Read more
Elon Musk declared last month that the federal government was engaged in “utterly insane” activity, claiming without evidence that it had distributed $100 billion to people without Social Security numbers. Two days after Mr. Musk’s comments, one of his key lieutenants, Steve Davis, began pressing the Social Security Administration for information. Mr. Davis called the … Read more