Technology

How Close Are We Really To A Robot-Run Society?

11:25am August 21, 2015

From self-driving cars to automated warehouses, humans are being pushed out of the equation. Soon, robots will "do a million other things we can't even conceive of," author John Markoff says.

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Virtual Summer Camp Uses 'Minecraft' To Teach Digital Skills

7:58am August 21, 2015

by Kasey Saeturn

While some kids go to summer camp, others opt for a virtual camp. It uses the Minecraft video game to teach engineering skills, basic coding and how to be a good citizen in the digital landscape.

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Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos appears at an event last year in Seattle for the launch of the new Amazon Fire Phone.

National

Jeff Bezos Responds To 'New York Times' Report On Amazon's Workplace

6:18pm August 20, 2015

by Laura Wagner

Amazon's CEO says in a memo to employees that "anyone working in a company that really is like the one described in the NYT would be crazy to stay."

Science

Scientists Develop App To Turn Smartphones Into Cosmic Ray Detectors

4:20pm August 20, 2015

by Joe Palca

If scientists can convince people to use the app, they hope it will help them solve a cosmic mystery. This story originally aired on March 27, 2015 on All Things Considered.

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National

Happy With Your TSA Experience? Press A Button. Angry? Press Another Button

10:11am August 20, 2015

by Lucy Perkins

Federal government agencies are experimenting with a new way to get customer feedback, and it involves four emoticons.

The website of the "married dating" service Ashley Madison was the target of hackers, who apparently released customer data.

Hackers Appear To Post Customer Data Of Affair-Enabling Website

3:46pm August 19, 2015

by Eyder Peralta

Security analysts say the huge data dump may include the account details of more than 30 million users of AshleyMadison.com and its companion site EstablishedMen.com

Daniel Craig plays James Bond in the film Casino Royale. Dramatis, a computer program, can detect suspense from this scene and rates it even higher as the plot thickens.

Can You Teach A Computer To 'Feel' Suspense?

12:09pm August 19, 2015

by Chris Benderev

Scientists want to make computers into better storytellers, but to do that they have to teach the machines a tricky element: suspense. Now researchers believe they've taken a big step forward.

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Can playing the Project Evo game really improve the brain's ability to deal with distractions? Its manufacturer thinks so.

'Play This Video Game And Call Me In The Morning'

4:57pm August 18, 2015

by April Dembosky

Developers at Akili are working on a game they hope might one day be prescribed to treat mental health conditions like ADHD and depression. But first, they must get past the FDA.

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A man browses the selection on Apple TV.

Arts

Television 2015: With 25 Ways To Watch TV, Does The House Always Win?

1:45pm August 18, 2015

by Linda Holmes

There are so many ways to watch TV now that people often feel liberated from old models. But even under some of the new systems for television, as at your better casinos, the house always wins.

Jonathan Zittrain, co-founder of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, says the right to be forgotten online is "a very bad solution to a real problem."

Debate: Should The U.S. Adopt The 'Right To Be Forgotten' Online?

12:10pm August 18, 2015

by NPR Staff

People don't always like what they see when they Google themselves. EU residents have a right to request that unflattering material be removed from online search results. Should the U.S. follow suit?

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