This Is Robotics: Radio News #10

Will Farm Robots Become Our Next Gas-Guzzling, Fume-Spewing Agents of Climate Change?Farm Robots…and the coming explosion in their numbers. As the world moves toward an additional 2 billion people, going from 7 to 9 billion total, the global food supply, according to the UN, will need 70% more food. Farm robots are the only way that will happen. But, with millions of new farm robots, will farm robots become our next gas-guzzling, fume-spewing agents of climate change? It’s going to happen, but there is a solution.Is This the Beginning of "Womb-to-Tomb" Algorithms?Hiring algorithms, says a recent study, mistakenly reject certain men, women, and handicapped. What does that mean for future of robotics and tech staffing? Algorithms sift through our resumes; algorithms scrutinize our job interviews. They are also part of our annual performance reviews and raises, weigh in on our promotions, layoffs…even firings. New York City is cracking down on them, others may follow. See what we uncovered.Nationwide Implications for New York City’s AI Bias Audit LawRobots Offer Singapore a Bright FutureLike other countries in East and Southeast Asia, Singapore has taken on a 20-year project to build a robot technopolis or robot city.The Jurong Innovation District (JID) has received $313 million in new investments over the past year. It’s part of Singapore’s future vision to mobilize Industry 4.0 and its Industrial Transformation Asia-Pacific plans into a place where robots, cobots, automation, industry, education, and people will coexist together in harmony that pegs robots and automation as “essential enablers” for its future.Robots Offer Singapore a Bright Future, If… Who Are the New Heroes of Robotics?They are not Hollywood creations. They are real, and their explorations are more than enough to send thousands of young people off in pursuit of careers in robotics. Yet very few kids know about them and their fantastic adventures.Last month, I was asked to speak to a cohort of high school students hellbent on robotics careers. The group was a robotics scholars summer program for high school kids put on by SuperTech and Code Tenderloin in San Francisco. Great course; wonderful bunch of high schoolers.Many young people are urged to get into robotics, but many times that’s as far as the advice goes. What awaits them in robotics is a bit of a mystery. For inspirational models, they harken to things like Star War’s sagas and Guardians of the Galaxy.Nice, but there’s so much more, I told them. Like the new heroes of robotics. “Smart” Job Tracks Powered by Robotics & AIHeartfelt Thanks for Making This Is Robotics the #1 Global Robotics News Podcast