Welcome to MIT Technology Review Narrated, the home for the very best of our journalism in audio. Each week we will share one of our most ambitious stories, fro...
Robots that can do many of the things humans do in the home—folding laundry, cooking meals, cleaning—have been a dream of robotics research since the inception of the field in the 1950s.
While engineers have made great progress in getting robots to work in tightly controlled environments like labs and factories, the home has proved difficult to design for. Out in the real, messy world, furniture and floor plans differ wildly; children and pets can jump in a robot’s way; and clothes that need folding come in different shapes, colors, and sizes. Managing such unpredictable settings and varied conditions has been beyond the capabilities of even the most advanced robot prototypes.
But now, the field is at an inflection point. A new generation of researchers believes that generative AI could give robots the ability to learn new skills and adapt to new environments faster than ever before. This new approach, just maybe, can finally bring robots out of the factory and into the mainstream.
This story was written by senior AI reporter Melissa Heikkilä and narrated by Noa - newsoveraudio.com
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Gorillas, militias, and Bitcoin: Why Congo’s most famous national park is betting big on crypto
In an attempt to protect its forests and famous wildlife, Virunga has become the first national park to run a Bitcoin mine. But some are wondering what crypto has to do with conservation.
This story was written by Adam Popescu and narrated by Noa (newsoveraudio.com)
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How gamification took over the world
We live in an undeniably gamified world. We stand up and move around to close colorful rings and earn achievement badges on our smartwatches; we meditate and sleep to recharge our body batteries; we plant virtual trees to be more productive; we chase “likes” and “karma” on social media sites and try to swipe our way toward social connection.
But instead of liberating us from drudgery and maximizing our potential, gamification has turned out to be just another tool for coercion, distraction, and control. Why did we fall for it?
This story was written by Bryan Gardiner and narrated by Noa (newsoveraudio.com)
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Technology that lets us “speak” to our dead relatives has arrived. Are we ready?
Digital clones of people's dead relatives are far from perfect: they're occasionally impersonal and sometimes downright creepy. But if the technology might help us hang onto the people we love, is it so wrong to try?
This story was written by news editor Charlotte Jee and narrated by Noa.
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Inside the quest to engineer climate-saving “super trees”
A Silicon Valley startup wants to supercharge trees to soak up more carbon and cool the climate. Is this the great climate solution or a whole lot of hype?
This story was written by Boyce Upholt and narrated by Noa.
Welcome to MIT Technology Review Narrated, the home for the very best of our journalism in audio. Each week we will share one of our most ambitious stories, from print and online, narrated for us by real voice actors. Expect big themes, thought-provoking topics, and sharp analysis, all backed by our trusted reporting.
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