461. How to Stop Worrying and Love the R...

<p>The iconic department store calls the parade its “gift to the nation.” With 30 million TV viewers, it’s also a big moneymaker — at least we think it is: when it comes to parade economics, Macy’s is famously tight-lipped. In this 2024 episode, we try to loosen them up. (Part on ... Show More

<p>A Trump executive order is giving retail investors more access to private markets. Is that a golden opportunity — or fool’s gold?</p><p> </p><ul><li><strong>SOURCES:</strong><ul><li><a href="https://law.duke.edu/fac/defontenay/">Elisabeth de Fontenay,</a> professor of law at D ... Show More

<p>Thoroughbred auction prices keep setting records. But tracks are closing, gambling revenues are falling, and the sport is increasingly reliant on subsidies. Is that the kind of long shot anybody wants? (Part three of a series, “<a href="https://freakonomics.com/the-horse-is-us ... Show More

When a robot goes bad, who is responsible? It’s not always clear if the user or the manufacturer is liable when a robot leaves the lot. Human behavior can be complex—and often contradictory. Asking machines to interpret that behavior is quite the task. Will it one day be possible ... Show More

In recent years Amazon has quietly become one of the leaders in automation, reshaping its workforce of nearly 600,000 workers, and the way humans work with robots. We fear robots taking over the world, but do we understand just how we as consumers are making that future happen? L ... Show More

Robots threaten the human workforce, but their ubiquity and growing competence make them crucial to the modern economy. In 1961 General Motors installed the first Unimate at one of its plants. It was a one-armed robot resembling a small tank that was used for tasks like welding. ... Show More

<p>Will we see robots that look, feel, and communicate in such lifelike ways that we won’t be able to tell them apart from other humans in our lifetime? When did the artificial intelligence movement begin? Is our progress with artificial intelligence leading to an inevitable, Sky ... Show More

There's a lot of hype about robots; some of it is scary and some of it utopian. In this accessible book, two robotics experts reveal the truth about what robots can and can't do, how they work, and what we can reasonably expect their future capabilities to be. It will not only ma ... Show More