automation

Customers use interactive kiosks to place orders at Eatsa, a fully automated fast food restaurant in San Francisco.

As Our Jobs Are Automated, Some Say We'll Need A Guaranteed Basic Income

9:54am September 24, 2016

by Queena Kim

How will the economy provide economic opportunities if employers need fewer workers in the future? A growing number of people in Silicon Valley are saying the only realistic answer is a basic income.

Eatsa's first location is in San Francisco's financial district. Its quinoa-based dishes sell for about $7 a bowl.

Economy

The Restaurant With No (Visible) Workers

11:24am September 01, 2015

by Avie Schneider

A new, highly automated restaurant in San Francisco looks to speed up service through efficiency. You won't see any people taking your order or serving you at Eatsa, a fast-casual quinoa eatery.

Mcity's "downtown" is actually a silk-screen recreation of a street in Ann Arbor, Mich. Researchers have built the small fake city at the University of Michigan as a testing ground for autonomous vehicles.

National

In Michigan, A Testing Ground For A Future Of Driverless Cars

11:18am July 31, 2015

by Jason Margolis

Automakers and researchers are using a 32-acre fake city at the University of Michigan to simulate a real-world environment for autonomous vehicles. How will such cars affect urban planning?

Queue Listen Now

NPR's Robert Siegel and Michael Minielly, a Mercedes-Benz representative, drive a new S550 4Matic, which allows for semi-autonomous driving.

Hands-Free, Mind-Free: What We Lose Through Automation

12:45pm July 30, 2015

by NPR Staff

Robert Siegel is joined by author Nicholas Carr for a look at the future of automation and automobiles. Carr's new book, The Glass Cage, warns against the rise of automation in our lives.

Queue Listen Now