Category: Artificial Intelligence

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As artificial intelligence continues to reshape the day-to-day workplace experience, about one-third of Gen Z adult workers living in America’s Heartland feel at least somewhat prepared to integrate artificial intelligence into their current jobs. Meanwhile, four in 10 Gen Z 5^th– to 12^th-grade students in the Heartland feel prepared to use AI in their future jobs.

Fewer than one in 10 Heartland Gen Z employees (9%) say they feel “extremely” prepared to use artificial intelligence in their current jobs, while 25% say they are “somewhat” prepared.

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When asked about their ability to use AI in their future roles, Gen Z adults who are no longer in secondary school are only slightly more optimistic: 11% feel extremely prepared, while 32% feel somewhat prepared. Meanwhile, just 3% of Gen Z middle and high school students feel extremely prepared to use AI in their future jobs, with 37% feeling somewhat prepared.

These findings are from a new survey conducted by the Walton Family Foundation and Gallup spanning 20 states^[1] in the Midwest and noncoastal South of the United States in partnership with Heartland Forward, a nonprofit organization committed to studying economic and wellbeing trends in the middle of the country.

The online survey — the latest in the Voices of Gen Z study — was conducted March 6-13, 2025, using the Gallup Panel. The results are based on responses from 1,474 13- to 28-year-old Gen Z children and adults living in the 20 Heartland states.

Industry and Workplace Policies Are Linked to Employee AI Preparedness

Gen Z employees’ confidence in their ability to use artificial intelligence in their work is closely related to the type of industry they are employed in. More than six in 10 (61%) Gen Zers who work in a science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) role feel at least somewhat prepared to use AI in their jobs. Meanwhile, workers in education (43%), other white-collar industries (32%), blue-collar and service jobs (30%), and healthcare (22%) are 18 to 39 percentage points less likely to feel prepared to use AI at work.

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Notably, nearly half of healthcare (48%) and blue-collar and service workers (47%) say artificial intelligence does not exist for their jobs.

For employers looking to increase their workers’ comfort with artificial intelligence, their AI use policies may be an important factor. Nearly six in 10 workers (59%) whose employers permit AI use feel prepared to use AI at work, compared with about one in four workers (26%) whose employers do not permit its use or do not have clear AI policies.

However, 36% of Gen Z workers say their employer allows them to use artificial intelligence for their work, while 10% say it is not permitted, 21% are unsure about whether their workplace allows its use, and 33% do not have jobs that can use AI.

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Gen Z workers in some fields are more likely than others to say their employer allows them to use AI for their work. About six in 10 STEM (61%) and education workers (59%) say their employer permits artificial intelligence use, far higher than the 10% of healthcare workers and 17% of blue-collar and service workers who say the same. Nearly half of white-collar workers not employed in STEM or education (45%) are allowed to use AI at work.

Gen Z Students’ Schools Are Not Preparing Them to Use AI After Graduation

Gen Z middle and high school students are less likely than Gen Z employees to say they are allowed to use AI in their work. A narrow majority of students (53%) say their school has not implemented a clear AI use policy, while 26% say it is permitted in at least some class-related activities and 20% report their school has banned AI for use in schoolwork.

Students living in counties with a median household income that is less than $60,000 per year, as well as those in nonmetro (rural) areas, are least likely to say their school allows them to use artificial intelligence and are especially likely to say their school has not established rules regarding AI use.

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The effects of schools’ limited engagement with artificial intelligence are reflected in students’ postgraduation employment outlook. Just over half of Gen Z middle and high schoolers in schools that permit AI use (56%) feel at least somewhat prepared to use this technology in their future jobs, compared with 34% of students in schools that ban AI or do not have a policy. As students in rural and lower-income areas are less likely than their peers to say their school permits artificial intelligence use, this may leave these students uniquely unprepared to enter the workforce with needed artificial intelligence knowledge and skills.

Implications

As artificial intelligence continues to change the way Americans work, Gen Zers will increasingly need to know how to leverage this technology in their current and future jobs. However, two-thirds of Gen Z workers do not feel prepared to use AI at work or do not believe AI could assist them in their roles, while 60% of Gen Z students do not feel prepared to use it after graduation.

The extent to which schools and workplaces have clear policies permitting artificial intelligence use influences students’ and employees’ confidence in their AI skills; however, most Gen Z students say their school does not allow AI use or that it does not have a clear AI policy, while more than four in 10 Gen Z workers say AI use is disallowed or they don’t know whether it’s allowed in their workplace. Workplaces that will rely on their employees’ ability to leverage artificial intelligence, as well as schools seeking to prepare students for postgraduation success, should consider whether their rules regarding artificial intelligence use are clear and facilitate students’ and workers’ development of those skills.

To stay up to date with the latest Gallup News insights and updates, follow us on X @Gallup.

Learn more about how the Voices of Gen Z survey works.

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The calendar has turned to May, and Aaron Rodgers is still a free agent.

Rodgers has been linked to the Steelers for a couple of months, but Thomas Tull, a part-owner of the Steelers, said the courtship of Rodgers is more “complex” than artificial intelligence. 

“I’m here to talk about AI, and that’s a more complex issue than artificial intelligence,” Tull said when asked about Rodgers in an interview on CNBC’s “Power Lunch.”

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The team has three quarterbacks on its roster — Mason Rudolph, Skylar Thompson and sixth-round draft pick Will Howard. 

After Russell Wilson departed Pittsburgh and signed with the New York Giants, the Steelers have been mentioned as a possible landing spot for the four-time MVP because most teams seem to have their starting quarterbacks for the 2025 season in place.

And Rodgers has not closed the door on retirement. 

“I’m open to anything and attached to nothing. Retirement could still be a possibility, but right now my focus is and has been and will continue to be on my personal life. … There’s still conversations that are being had,” Rodgers said on “The Pat McAfee Show” in April. 

COWBOYS, STEELERS AGREE TO TRADE FOR GEORGE PICKENS

“I’m in a different phase of my life. I’m 41 years old, I’m in a serious relationship. I have off-the-field stuff that requires my attention. I have personal commitments I’ve made not knowing what my future was going to look like after last year that are important to me. And I have a couple of people in my inner, inner circle who are really battling some difficult stuff. So, I have a lot of things that are taking my attention — and have, beginning really in January — away from football.”

It remains to be seen whether Rodgers decides to play football and sign with the Steelers or if he will decide to call it a career after 20 seasons. 

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With the New York Jets last season, Rodgers threw for 3,987 yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 17 games. 

Regardless of who ends up starting for the Steelers in Week 1, they will not have George Pickens as a receiver. The team traded Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday. 

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WEST MONROE, La. (KNOE) – President Trump signed an executive order to bring Artificial Intelligence to K-12 classrooms.

On April 23, the White House published a statement explaining how the executive order will promote AI literacy and proficiency among Americans by adding AI to education, providing comprehensive training for educators and more.

A cyber professional and CEO of HiTech, Richard Raue says the use of AI can be good or bad. He says it is a tool that can advance education, if used properly.

He says, “All phones are pretty much AI capable, so simply asking Google a question or Microsoft or anyone, all those tools are backed with AI and all the questions and answers. Think of all the children that have access to phones, they can do whatever they want to with it to a certain extent but what we’ve done over the last 30 years, just like we will do with AI, we’ve made errors and learn from them, and put guardrails in place, just as we will with AI to ensure our technology is safe and proficient.”

A local Band Director at Riser Middle School, Charles Longino says he uses AI in the classroom to critique students performance skills and it offers suggestions for music that will target certain performance areas. He says it could be helpful for other subjects and lessen the pressure on teachers.

He says, “It could ask them specific questions about missing steps and the student would have to resubmit that and then it could teach them, saying they missed a step and help them by showing them how to rework the problem properly.”

Cyber professional Richard Raue says with AI likely being implemented in schools, the next focus would be to evaluate funding for its use and create safety barriers for students.

Copyright 2025 KNOE. All rights reserved.

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – From Snapchat AI to Chat GPT and AI-powered translation apps, artificial intelligence programs that were once viewed with suspicion are now being embraced by schools, but with a healthy dose of skepticism.

These programs can offer advantages for teachers and students, but they can also cause problems.

Artificial intelligence programs are here to stay.

Educators like Legacy High School’s Haleigh Harter believe it’s important to adapt and evolve.

She said AI has created a more level playing field.

“There’s a difference between equality and fairness, and because I work with students who are in reading strategies and may need a little extra help in reading comprehension, there are ways to use Chat GPT to make texts more accessible to them,” said Harter.

Harter also said AI programs like Chat GPT can format her lesson plans and act as a study partner for students.

For ESL teacher Christina Kitzman, AI and translation apps have only benefited her and her students.

“My students practice speaking. And so, they talk into a program, and it gives them feedback on how they’re doing with their English speaking, so that’s really cool. We also have conversations with AI as well, so they can practice real-world situations,” said Kitzman.

These programs help students like Modou make strides in and out of the classroom.

“It helped me out with spelling, reading, everything, really, everything the teachers are teaching me. It helped me out at home as well,” said Modou.

But these intuitive programs also have pitfalls that can limit learning progress, like writing an entire paper by typing in a prompt or citing sources that either don’t exist, or provide an author’s name who never wrote the cited work.

“One of the things we do talk about is how Chat GPT hallucinates—that’s kind of the term that they use for it. What I tell my students is Chat GPT is lazy too,” said Harter.

Simply put, when it comes to teaching and learning, AI programs are here to guide students and educators, not to help them take the easy way out.

Teachers have programs to monitor their students’ AI use and to help protect their students’ personal information.

Copyright 2025 KFYR. All rights reserved.

Chris Pelkey died in a road rage shooting in Arizona three years ago.

But with the help of artificial intelligence, he returned earlier this month at his killer’s sentencing to deliver a victim’s statement himself.

Family members said they used the burgeoning technology to let Mr Pelkey use his own words to talk about the incident that took his life.

While some experts argue the unique use of AI is just another step into the future, others say it could become a slippery slope for using the technology in legal cases.

His family used voice recordings, videos and pictures of Mr Pelkey, who was 37 when he was killed, to recreate him in a video using AI, his sister Stacey Wales told the BBC.

Ms Wales said she wrote the words that the AI version read in court based on how forgiving she knew her brother to be.

“To Gabriel Horcasitas, the man who shot me, it is a shame we encountered each other that day in those circumstances,” said the AI version of Mr Pelkey in court. “In another life, we probably could have been friends.”

“I believe in forgiveness, and a God who forgives. I always have and I still do,” the AI verison of Mr Pelkey – wearing a grey baseball cap – continues.

The technology was used at his killer’s sentencing – Horcasitas already had been found guilty by a jury – some four years after Horcasitas shot Mr Pelkey at a red light in Arizona.

The Arizona judge who oversaw the case, Todd Lang, seemed to appreciate the use of AI at the hearing. He sentenced Horcasitas to 10-and-a-half years in prison on manslaughter charges.

“I loved that AI, thank you for that. As angry as you are, as justifiably angry as the family is, I heard the forgiveness,” Judge Lang said. “I feel that that was genuine.”

Paul Grimm, a retired federal judge and Duke Law School professor, told the BBC he was not surprised to see AI used in the Horcasitas sentencing.

Arizona courts, he notes, already have started using AI in other ways. When the state’s Supreme Court issues a ruling, for example, it has an AI system that makes those rulings digestible for people.

And Mr Grimm said because it was used without a jury present, just for a judge to decide sentencing, the technology was allowed.

“We’ll be leaning [AI] on a case-by-case basis, but the technology is irresistible,” he said.

But some experts like Derek Leben, a business ethics professor at Carnegie Mellon University, are concerned about the use of AI and the precedent this case sets.

While Mr Leben does not question this family’s intention or actions, he worries not all uses of AI will be consistent with a victim’s wishes.

“If we have other people doing this moving forward, are we always going to get fidelity to what the person, the victim in this case, would’ve wanted?” Mr Leben asked.

For Ms Wales, however, this gave her brother the final word.

“We approached this with ethics and morals because this is a powerful tool. Just like a hammer can be used to break a window or rip down a wall, it can also be used as a tool to build a house and that’s how we used this technology,” she said.

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (KUTV) — In a state grappling with high housing costs and a need for increased inventory, advanced technology like artificial intelligence is making it possible to build homes faster and more affordably.

But many in the industry aren’t using it to its full potential.

Claude and Wendy Bethea are a pair of empty-nesters documenting the construction of their dream home on YouTube.

MORE | Artificial intelligence: How artificial intelligence can be utilized, restricted in classrooms

Their project is more than just a personal milestone, it’s an example of how they use advanced technology to design and build.

Claude is a partner at SoLux Home. He has experience working in the tech industry and is now integrating cutting-edge technology into homebuilding.

“We’ll take the plans and create a virtual walkthrough and walk the home before we even start building,” he said, showcasing how digital modeling helps streamline construction and catch errors before they happen.

At a gated development overlooking Jordanelle Reservoir, Bethea is involved in another high-end project using the same technology. He acknowledged that most builders are behind the curve.

“95% of the builders out there are not using these technologies,” he said.

Despite the promise of faster, cheaper construction, adoption remains low.

“You have a technology that can help you speed up that process, but you have a very small trade base that actually knows how to use that technology,” Bethea added.

At the University of Utah, researchers are studying how to bridge this gap. Abbas Rashidi, a professor in manufacturing and engineering, researches the latest AI technologies from things like 3D printed homes to streamlined manufacturing.

“These types of technologies are useful if you’re not looking for something really fancy, not something that is complicated, but something that can just handle the job,” Rashidi said.

Rashidi said we should be seeing new technology becoming more and more popular, and the workforce may be shifting.

“New generations are more interested in sitting in an office in front of computers doing things other than working on a job site, so for that reason, we are probably shifting more to automation,” Rashidi said.

When asked whether hands-on labor or AI is the better approach, Rashidi said, “To me, the ideal situation is a merging of both.”

According to AI company Twixify, artificial intelligence can reduce build times by as much as 30% from initial concept to final design. AI also helps reduce errors and waste, leading to quicker and more cost-efficient builds.

“It’s going to be easier to get trades done, which should lower the costs of those trades,” Bethea added.

And with constant advances in AI, Rashidi believes the industry is just scratching the surface.

“It’s fascinating to see how things are evolving,” he said.

AI has also grabbed the attention of the Utah Homebuilders’ Association, where they are working on streamlining the permitting and regulation process. This would take collaboration between builders and local municipalities.

Currently, AI is already being used to generate home designs that meet local and state building codes. Both Bethea and Rashidi agree that the future holds even more potential for AI to revolutionize the way homes are built in Utah and beyond.

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The road-rage killer of an Arizona man was sentenced last week to 10½ years behind bars after his victim spoke to the court via artificial intelligence in what could be the first-of-its-kind use of the technology, officials said Wednesday.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Todd Lang on Thursday gave the maximum sentence to Gabriel Paul Horcasitas for the fatal shooting of Christopher Pelkey, 37, on Nov. 13, 2021, prosecutors said.

Horcasitas, 54, was convicted of manslaughter and endangerment this year.

Lang allowed Pelkey’s loved ones to play an AI-generated version of the victim — his face and body and a lifelike voice that appeared to ask the judge for leniency.

“To Gabriel Horcasitas, the man who shot me: It is a shame we encountered each other that day in those circumstances,” the artificial version of Pelkey said. “In another life, we probably could have been friends. I believe in forgiveness.”

The idea of using an AI version of Pelkey came from his family, not the state, according to his loved ones and a Maricopa County Attorney’s Office spokesperson.

Stacey Wales, Pelkey’s sister, and his brother-in-law both work in the AI field. When Wales suggested bringing her late brother to life like that, she said, her husband was more than hesitant.

“He recoiled,” Wales told NBC News. “And he said: ‘Stacey, do you know what you’re asking me to do? This is my best friend.’ And I said: ‘I know. It’s my brother.’ And then he said, ‘If this isn’t perfect, if this doesn’t go out and really embody the spirit of Chris, I’m not going to let this be shown.’”

Horcasitas had been convicted of manslaughter and endangerment at trial in spring 2023. But a new trial was ordered when a judge ruled that prosecutors failed to property disclose potentially key evidence in a timely manner.

Wales said she hadn’t come up with the idea in 2023. After two years of trying to craft a victim impact statement, she said, she had the epiphany that the only voice that mattered was her late brother’s.

“Every time I’d get in the shower or the car and my thoughts were quiet, I wrote down what I was feeling — frustrated, crying or emotions, yelling, anger, love, anything that I could think of,” she said.

“I’ve been writing it for two years, but I never had the idea to help Chris speak until a week and a half before this second trial.”

She added: “What I had to say did not seem like it would do justice to the last person listening to make a decision on Chris’ life.”

Horcasitas faced seven to 10½ years in prison. The defense asked for the lowest punishment.

Lang delivered the maximum, but he acknowledged the words in the presentation. “And as angry as you are, justifiably angry as the family is, I heard the forgiveness,” he said. “I feel like that was genuine, that his obvious forgiveness of Mr. Horcasitas reflects the character I heard about [Pelkey] today.”

Defense lawyer Jason Lamm said the AI presentation created a strong issue for appeal.

“While judges certainly have latitude as to what to hear, particularly from victims, an appellate court will have to decide if this was error,” Lamm said, “if it was just simply too far over the line in terms of being inflammatory and to what degree the judge relied on it in imposing a sentence on my client.”

Arizona State University law professor Gary Marchant, who specializes in ethics and emerging technologies, praised Pelkey’s loved ones for producing a work that appeared to be against their self-interest of securing a maximum penalty for Horcasitas.

But he said he’s worried about the precedent it set.

“The family did a really good job of representing what he would have said, and they would have the best sense of what he would have said,” Marchant said. “But on the other hand, it’s completely fake, right? It’s not true.”

While prosecutors and defense lawyers have long used visual aids, charts and other illustrations to make their points, Marchant said, AI presents new ethical challenges.

“I mean, it’s a blurry line, right?” said Marchant, who is on a state Supreme Court committee advising on the use of AI. “You see someone speaking who isn’t really speaking, right? You see that person in the courtroom actually speaking, and in reality, they’re dead and they’re not speaking. So this is an extra jump that I feel is going to get us into dangerous grounds.”

Artificial intelligence (AI) has given the stock market a big boost in the past couple of years. Companies and governments around the globe have been rapidly adopting this technology thanks to its disruptive nature, especially considering the significant productivity gains that it is projected to deliver in the long run.

Market research firm IDC predicts that each dollar spent on AI could generate $4.60 worth of value for the global economy in 2030. As a result, it won’t be surprising to see the strong demand for AI hardware and software continue over the next five years. Nvidia has been one of the pioneers in the field of AI, as the company’s powerful chips have allowed customers to train and deploy large language models (LLMs) and applications.

Nvidia stock could get a nice shot in the arm in May…

The chipmaker is the biggest AI chip company out there, witnessing a whopping 114% increase in revenue in fiscal 2025 to $130.5 billion. Importantly, Nvidia has the ability to sustain its impressive growth momentum for a long time to come, thanks to a massive addressable market. However, the stock has been under pressure this year, thanks to restrictions on exports of its chips to China, the rising competition in the AI chip market, a potential drop in AI infrastructure spending, and the fallout of the tariff-fueled trade war.

The good part is that investors can buy this potential long-term winner at an attractive valuation right now, especially considering that it could regain its mojo in May following the release of its upcoming results. However, there is another AI chip company that looks like a better buy than Nvidia.

Let’s take a closer look at that name.

…but this high-growth company is worth buying hand over fist

Marvell Technology (MRVL -8.08%) designs application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and networking chips that are used in data centers, enterprise networking, telecom networks, and automotive, industrial, and consumer applications. The company’s data center business is now its biggest source of revenue.

Marvell got 75% of its top line from sales of data center chips in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 (which ended on Feb. 1). The segment’s revenue shot up a remarkable 78% year over year on the back of strong AI-fueled demand. Marvell points out that its AI revenue during the fiscal year was well above its original target of $1.5 billion, and it expects to “significantly exceed” its $2.5 billion revenue target for fiscal 2026.

This massive spurt in Marvell’s AI revenue is set to drive outstanding growth in the company’s revenue and earnings. Consensus estimates are projecting a 42% spike in the company’s revenue in the current fiscal year, to $8.2 billion. That would be a major improvement over the 5% revenue growth it clocked in the previous fiscal year. Even better, analysts are expecting Marvell’s healthy revenue growth to continue over the next couple of fiscal years as well.

MRVL Revenue Estimates for Current Fiscal Year data by YCharts.

This is set to translate into terrific bottom-line growth as well. Marvell’s earnings are forecasted to jump by 78% in the current fiscal year to $2.80 per share, followed by healthy growth over the next couple of years.

MRVL EPS Estimates for Current Fiscal Year data by YCharts.

It’s easy to see why analysts are expecting such impressive growth from this company. After all, the demand for custom AI processors and chips has been increasing, as they’re more efficient in carrying out the specific tasks they’re designed for when compared to general-purpose computing chips such as graphics processing units (GPUs). As a result, custom AI processors can help lower operating costs, which is why the likes of Amazon and others have been developing these chips with Marvell’s help.

Marvell points out that it currently has two high-volume customers for its custom AI chips. It expects to gain more business from these customers in the future, as they are likely to adopt the next generation of Marvell’s custom AI processors. Marvell has brought onboard a third customer as well, to whom it will start shipping its AI chips next year.

Looking ahead, there’s a good chance that Marvell could attract even more customers for custom AI chips. That’s because the company is pushing the envelope on the product development front and has developed a 2-nanometer (nm) node for manufacturing custom AI chips and networking components. Marvell currently offers chips based on a 3nm platform, and the move to the smaller 2nm process should ideally result in 15% performance gains and 30% lower power consumption.

This new process node should put Marvell in a solid position to make the most of the fast-growing custom AI chip market, which it projects is on track to grow at a 45% annual rate through 2028 to $43 billion. Moreover, the company expects to corner a bigger share of this fast-growing niche with the help of its next-generation chips. Specifically, Marvell management believes that the company’s share of the data center chip market could double to 20% in 2028 from 10% in 2023.

So, don’t be surprised to see Marvell maintaining a healthy pace of growth beyond the next couple of fiscal years. It’s trading at less than 23 times forward earnings, compared to Nvidia’s forward earnings multiple of 26. So investors can buy Marvell at very attractive levels right now, considering the big earnings jump it’s expected to deliver. They may not want to pass up such an opportunity this month, as Marvell’s long-term outlook indicates that it could deliver solid stock price upside for a long time to come.

John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Harsh Chauhan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends Marvell Technology. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Your aging loved one is home alone.

Heavy pots and pans fill high shelves. A light bulb out of easy reach needs to be changed. Outside, the overgrown lawn waves in the wind. Like 75% of Americans, your family member wants to remain independent in their own home. But, like many, you are concerned about the growing aging population and the shortage of health care workers to assist them.

In Mountain View, California, Heni Ben Amor is hard at work on the future of robotics. He is an associate professor of computer science and engineering in the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University.

Ben Amor spent a year embedded in Google’s DeepMind, part of a team that is coming up with the solution to your problem, and it’s a robot … that can play table tennis. If you did a double take just now, he hopes that you understand something important.

The same skills that help the table tennis bot move, react and understand instructions during play are key for building robots that could help aging adults live independently. 

Imagine a robot that helps you grab items from a high shelf, prepares meals and tidies up the house — and processes what you’re asking it to do. That’s the reality Ben Amor and the DeepMind team are working toward.

“If you want to get robots out of the manufacturing plant, make them learn a sport,” Ben Amor says. “They will pick up all the needed skills. These robots have to be really dynamic. They have to be aware of their surroundings. They have to anticipate the behavior of the people around them.”

The score? Game: robot. Match: humanity

The roboticists began with a desire for an AlphaGo moment.

Remember when Google’s AlphaGo AI beat a Go world champion and everyone freaked out? That was the AlphaGo moment for games. Then AlphaFold did it again for medicine by solving protein-folding puzzles. Now, DeepMind is going for a three-peat — with robots.

Enter the table tennis bot.

This little champ takes in text-based instructions from a user via Gemini, a chatbot that uses Google’s large language model, or LLM. Gemini combines human coaching with artificial intelligence, or AI, algorithms created by Ben Amor and the team. Those algorithms serve as a set of computer instructions, prompting the robot to play on its own until it demonstrates that it can perform as directed.

By reading the game logs and tweaking its performance based on plain-language instructions, the robot doesn’t just play. It gets better every time it plays.

What’s more, as it plays, the robot generates a series of “diary entries.” Gemini then analyzes what the robot is doing, noting the changes made to play as the researchers’ algorithms work. The chatbot reports this back to the user.

Pannag Sanketi, tech-lead manager on the robotics team at Google DeepMind, notes that this is a critical step. For us to be able to trust AI and the robots using it, we must be able to understand them. The user must always know what the robot is doing — and why.

“It’s important for establishing trust and transparency,” Sanketi says. “When a robot can explain why it’s adjusting its actions, it builds user trust and makes the robot’s behavior less opaque. If the robot isn’t performing as expected, the natural language explanations provided by the LLM during its optimization process can help users or developers identify potential issues more easily.”

In testing, the robot managed to beat half the amateur humans it played against and even scored points on expert players. So no, it’s not yet the Serena Williams of table tennis, but it’s got game.

Next up, Ben Amor and the team, including computer science doctoral students Yifan Zhou and Kamalesh Kalirathinam, will present their work at the 2025 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation to be held later in May in Atlanta. The team is also exploring other collaborations with DeepMind.

Students serve up smarter robots (and big impact)

Ben Amor has been on a sports-meets-science journey for years, building robots that play basketball, throw footballs and, now, crush it in table tennis. The efforts are part of a serious strategy to galvanize student enthusiasm for robotics.

By engaging students with fun, high-energy projects like robot sports, Ben Amor’s lab is training the next generation of roboticists to tackle tough challenges, such as home assistance, health care and rehabilitation.

“It’s hard to get a student excited about programming a surgical arm on day one,” he says. “But tell them they’re building a table tennis robot that can outsmart their roommate? Now we’ve got their attention.”

Ben Amor’s team has applied the same techniques used in the table tennis and basketball robots to develop a prosthetic limb for individuals with lower-leg amputations. The intelligent prosthesis reduces musculoskeletal strain by adjusting to the user’s gait and changing terrain in real time. The team patented the design in 2024 and has been collaborating with a local startup to transition the technology from a lab prototype to a real-world solution.

Ross Maciejewski, director of the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, says Ben Amor’s work is an important part of the school’s efforts to build a home for excellence in robotics education and research.

“Robotics is a critical field that’s shaping the future of everything from health care to space exploration,” Maciejewski says. “Heni’s work plays a key role in our efforts to prepare students to lead in this transformative area.”

And yes, the table tennis bot might be flashy and fun, but behind the cool spin shots and trick serves, it’s building the skills that will one day help real people live longer, healthier, more independent lives.

Dear editor:

We’re surrounded by black boxes, whose inner workings we’re not allowed to see, examine, or even question. Computers, iPads, “smart” phones, Apple watches, vehicles, etc. – and, of course – voting machines.

We’re expected to accept and comply with the “decisions” these machines make and present to us with no questions whatsoever. Just accept and comply, boneheads.

The makers of these black boxes think we’re too stupid to make our own decisions. I mean, we’re destroying the planet, right, through our bonehead individual decisions!? At least, that’s what we’re told endlessly all day long.

So, because our individual decisions are apparently so dangerous and damaging, we should just accept and comply with what the black boxes tell us to think and do. The black box makers know what’s best for us – way better than we do!

So, sit down, shut up, be grateful they care so much about you that they’re making your decisions for you, and just comply.

Now we’re expected to eagerly accept and comply with the “decisions” that AI makes, which are supposedly also for our benefit. For the good of us all!

Wyoming legislators discussed the awesomeness of being “governed by AI” during a September 16 – 17, 2024 meeting of the Select Committee on Blockchain, Financial Technology and Digital Innovation Technology.

It’s slated to be a main topic during their quickly upcoming May 14 – 15, 2025 meeting.

The elephant-in-the-room irony is that “governance by AI” will kill off their own jobs.

But, what is “AI”?

“AI” is short for “artificial intelligence.” Yes, it’s artificial, because man created it – it’s not natural. But, is it truly “intelligent”?

Computers have no intelligence, they have no brain, they cannot think. Their “brains” are CPUs, central processing units. Circuitry. Circuits are conduits along which electrons flow.

Notice something all these black boxes have in common? They’re all computers.

A computer can only do what it’s told to do, the way in which it’s told to do it, and for as long as it’s told to do it. And, all of that is determined by its programming, by those writing the computer programs.

AI = computer programs, written by computer programmers.

Therefore, governance by AI equals governance by computer programmers.

But, bonehead, remember, these computer programmers know what’s best for us! Way better than we do! So, sit down, shut up, and just comply.

This is even being taught to children. So that they deliberately turn their thinking over to machines, and as early in life as possible.

Now, isn’t that another type of programming? Programming our children to become little more than trained monkeys, to only look to black boxes to tell them what to think and do…

AI is our new god. Because those writing the AI programs tell us so.

Turn your thinking over to AI. It’s what’s best for all of us. Because the computer programmers know what’s best! They tell us so.

Just bow down and comply.

Sincerely,

Kerry Aggen, Buffalo