In January 1921, Karel Čapek’s play R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) opened in Prague and dragged the word “robot” out of linguistic obscurity: robota, the Czech term for the forced labor a serf owed his lord. “Čapek’s robots, they’re serfs, essentially,” says Alisa Zhulina, an associate professor of theatre studies at New York University, affiliated with
Microsoft is offering buyouts to roughly 60,000 employees, or about 27% of its workforce, as the software giant continues to spend heavily on artificial intelligence. In a note to employees on Monday, chief people officer Amy Coleman introduced the new program, noting that eligible employees include senior leaders, up to vice presidents. “This offer gives
After chatbot startup Character.AI filed for bankruptcy earlier this week, many of its employees will have the opportunity to take jobs at Disney. Character.AI’s former CEO Karandeep Anand recently became the entertainment giant’s first CTO, and the startup previously said that Disney had agreed to acquire some of its assets for $20 million. A legal
The composition of Anthropic’s workforce and the type of work getting done have changed significantly in the past year, according to a report that the AI company published on Friday. Anthropic argues that its own workplace trends could be indicators of “how AI will shift work organization, hiring, and labor demand across the economy,” especially
NASA has selected 12 U.S. institutions to receive $12 million to accelerate academic research and technology development in support of the agency’s priorities for exploring the Moon, Mars, and deep space. Through NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) Space Technology Artemis Research (M‑STAR) initiative, selected institutions will each receive up to $1 million
NASA kicked off its State Hubs for Skilled Technical Workforce initiative Sept. 15, 2026 with awardees at Space Center Houston. Agency leadership convened State Hub partners to align strategy and build momentum while focusing on partnerships, small business engagement, and next steps. “The NASA State Hubs initiative is a top priority for the agency, because
