Technology

Science

Q&A: What Machines Can Learn From People And We Can Learn From Them

6:25pm October 18, 2015

by Alina Selyukh

Should artificial intelligence mimic human behavior? The executive in charge of developing future generations of IBM's Watson tackles that and other questions about the limits and powers of AI.

World News

U.K.'s Mounting, Controversial Video Surveillance

10:38am October 18, 2015

by Leila Fadel

There's concern by privacy advocates about the growing use of surveillance cameras. They point to the U.K. as a place where the technology is everywhere.

Queue Listen Now

#NPRreads: A Digital Dark Age And A Story That's Part Listicle, Part Longread

5:39pm October 16, 2015

Also this week: a look at President Obama's decision to keep more U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Books

More Fair Use News: Google Books, Again, Prevails Against Authors

4:55pm October 16, 2015

by Alina Selyukh

Google gets another win in a case by book authors and publishers challenging its digital library. Disputes over "fair use" of copyrighted material are bound to continue as more stuff ends up online.

Since 2004, Google has scanned more than 20 million books as part of an electronic database, such as these volumes at the University of Michigan's Buhr Shelving Facility.

Google's Book-Scanning Project Is Legal, U.S. Appeals Court Says

12:57pm October 16, 2015

by Alina Selyukh

A group of authors had sued over Google's effort to compile a digital library, arguing the project was illegal. An appeals court found the program complies with copyright law.

Hunter-Gatherers Don't Get More Sleep Than We Do, Study Finds

9:02pm October 15, 2015

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

A new study shows people living in hunter-gatherer societies don't get any more sleep than people in the more modern world, despite living without TVs, computers, cell phones and other electronic distractions.

Queue Listen Now

National

Are Smartphone Apps Making It Easier To Racially Profile?

7:39pm October 15, 2015

Retailers are using apps to report thefts and suspicious activity. NPR's Kelly McEvers talks to Terrence McCoy of the Washington Post about how that cooperation doesn't necessarily mean safer streets.

Queue Listen Now

NPR blogger and astrophysicist Adam Frank visited an intersection of many transportation modes to illustrate his point about why infrastructure needs to change.

National

Why The Future Of Transportation Depends On Changing Infrastructure

6:42pm October 15, 2015

by Adam Frank

NPR science blogger and astrophysicist Adam Frank argues infrastructure must change in order to develop new, environmentally friendly forms of transportation.

Queue Listen Now

Tech Company Hyperloop Doesn't Pay Its Employees — At Least Not In Cash

5:19pm October 15, 2015

by Steve Henn

We've come to expect a steady stream of flashy new gadgets from the booming tech sector, but another area of innovation in Silicon Valley is how we work, mainly the structure of our offices and companies. Planet Money tells the story of a company that has no employees, doesn't pay any salaries, but has hundreds of extremely talented workers nonetheless.

Queue Listen Now

New autopilot features are demonstrated in a Tesla Model S during a Tesla event in Palo Alto, Calif., Wednesday.

National

Self-Driving Cars Hit The Streets, Sort Of

2:18pm October 15, 2015

by Aarti Shahani

The electric car company Tesla is now becoming the self-driving carmaker. Today it releases software to tens of thousands of Model S owners to automate steering, lane change and parallel parking.

Queue Listen Now