AI & Robotics

Entity linking fulfills a key role in grounded language understanding. Given a text mention of an entity (e.g., the word “helpful”), an algorithm identifies the entity’s corresponding entry in a knowledge base (such as a Wikipedia article). To extend its usefulness, researchers at Google propose a new technique where language-specific mentions resolve to a language-agnostic knowledge base.

European electric scooter startup Voi is turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to enable its vehicles to detect pedestrians and sidewalks, a move designed to ingratiate itself to municipalities worried about chaotic micromobility schemes. Escooter (and ebike) sales have surged throughout 2020 as travelers sought alternatives to crowded public transport, but this proliferation serves to stoke…

In addition to announcing the release of macOS Big Sur and formally revealing its first Mac-specific M1 chips, Apple today unveiled the first Mac computers that will use its new software and hardware: M1-powered versions of the 13-inch MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini. Each of the machines will be using the M1 chip to deliver performance roughly three times the prior comparable Intel…

In the United States, there was nothing else this week except for the presidential election. More people voted in this election than in any other previous U.S. presidential election — a total of 143,518,226 votes and counting. As we close out a long, stressful week, it appears all but a formality that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be the country’s next President and Vice President.