Waymo CEO says society is ready for one of its cars to kill someone

"Waymo robotaxis are so safe that, according to the company's data, its driverless vehicles are involved in 91% fewer crashes compared to human-operated vehicles. And yet the company is bracing for the first time when a Waymo does kill somebody — a moment its CEO says society will accept, in exchange for access to its relatively safer driverless cars. 'We really worry as a company about those days,' said Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana on Monday during TechCrunch's Disrupt summit, as reported by SFGate. 'You know, we don't say "whether." We say "when." And we plan for them.'"

Futurism »

There's no manual for parenting. But now, there's a dashboard.

Parenting comes with questions no one warns you about. (Most commonly: "Is my baby supposed to do that?") Path by Riley turns all that uncertainty into insight with a milestone tracker that adapts to your baby's real development. Built on developmental science and backed by experts, Path delivers personalized guidance, smart tracking, and 24/7 expert access — all inside the Riley app. It's like a parenting cheat code that runs on data, not panic. [Ad]

Parent with data »

This AI recorder ring deepfakes your voice to let you 'interface with your thoughts'

"If Plaud selling a million of its notetaking devices wasn't enough to convince you that AI recorders are a real thing, maybe a ring will do the trick. Introducing the Stream Ring, a new AI recorder or 'mouse for voice' from a startup called Sandbar, which puts its own (kind of creepy) spin on the idea. The Stream Ring is (duh) a ring that comes with a microphone and functions much in the same way as Plaud's card-sized device. It records your voice at the push of a button and lets you record ideas or 'moments of inspiration,' as Sandbar puts it. The difference? The Stream Ring, as a part of its onboarding process, listens to your voice and attempts to mimic it using a feature it calls 'Inner Voice.' The idea here is that talking to the Stream Ring, which runs AI models in the cloud, will feel more like… talking to yourself."

Gizmodo »

Can bowhead whales with their 200-year lifespan help us to slow ageing?

"With a maximum lifespan of more than 200 years, the bowhead whale lives longer than any other mammal. But how the 80-ton beasts survive so long has never been fully explained. Now scientists have found hints of an answer and are drawing up plans to see whether the same biological trick can be performed in humans. If so, it raises hopes for boosting healthy aging and protecting organs and tissues during surgery and transplantations, they say. 'We were looking to understand the mechanisms of the exceptional longevity of the bowhead whale, the longest-living mammal… What we found is that maybe part of the mechanism is through very accurate and efficient repair of DNA breaks.'"

The Guardian »

Make your ideas look like they took hours (spoiler: they didn't)

AI Magicx isn't just a tool — it's your secret weapon for making creativity effortless. From jaw-dropping graphics to instantly polished presentations, this AI-powered platform transforms your vision into reality in seconds. No design skills? No problem. Whether you're crafting content, building a brand, or just trying to impress your boss, AI Magicx makes it look like you spent hours (even when you didn't). [Ad]

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Ultrasound makes artificial muscles bubble to life

"A soft gel filled with tiny bubbles might not look like much. But when pulsed with ultrasound waves, the material behaves like natural muscle: contracting, gripping, and lifting with surprising strength. The discovery, reported this week in Nature, introduces a new kind of artificial muscle — one powered not by wires, batteries, or pumps, but by sound. The acoustic trick behind these 'bubble muscles' opens the door to wireless control, quick responsiveness, and even deep-tissue operation. That could lead to soft robots that wriggle through tight spaces with lifelike agility, surgical tools that bend and flex inside the body, or gentle grippers that can manipulate fragile objects without breaking them."

IEEE Spectrum »