Spring allergy season has begun. Where is it worse in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Elon Musk said Thursday night at Tesla's AI Day that the company is building a humanoid robot, and will probably have a prototype next year.
"It's basically going to start dealing with work that is boring, repetitive and dangerous," Musk said of the Tesla robot. "What is the work that people would least like to do?"
Musk did not say if it would be sold or for how much. The robot will have a screen positioned where a human face would be to display "useful information," Musk said.
Musk said the robot would have a "profound" impact on the economy. He said physical work would be a choice in the future, and a universal basic income would be needed. Musk is among the Silicon Valley leaders who have cautioned that technology may eliminate the jobs of many people, so some humans will need another income source.
"But not right now because this robot doesn't work," Musk added.
Human-like robots have long been a fascination in pop culture. But creating a human-like robot that can perform human tasks has proven incredibly difficult. Artificial intelligence has improved rapidly, but remains far behind the general abilities of even a human toddler. Robotics applications have been restricted to basic tasks in simple environments, such as carrying goods in a factory, or autonomously vacuuming a home.
Musk's innovative work at Tesla and SpaceX have disrupted the auto and space industries. But he's also earned a reputation for missing deadlines and overpromising. Musk hasn't met many aggressive claims for when Tesla self-driving vehicles would be ready for mass commercial use. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating the safety of Tesla's autonomous driving software, and two U.S. Senators have asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether Tesla's marketing of its autonomous drive software is deceptive.
Musk described the robot as an extension of Tesla's work to build self-driving vehicles. The robot will use the same computer chip, and navigate with eight cameras, no different than Tesla's vehicles.
Musk said the robot will stand 5 feet 8 inches high, weigh 125 pounds, be able to carry 45 pounds and move as fast as 5 miles per hour.
"Can you talk to it and say, 'please pick up that bolt and attach it to a car with that wrench,' and it should be able to do that," Musk said. "'Please go to the store and get me the following groceries.' That kind of thing. I think we can do that."
Musk said Tesla would start by giving the robot five fingers on each hand, but that might change.
Musk said at AI Day that Tesla wanted to show it's more than an electric car company. Several of his employees gave presentations touting Tesla's expertise in artificial intelligence, which is critical for developing self-driving cars or a humanoid robot.
Musk also joked that the robot would be friendly.
"We hope this does not feature in a dsytopian sci-fi movie," Musk said.
He also fielded a question from the audience about how the automaker could make the robot part of its business.
"I just don't see how to reproduce, starting with a supercar and breaking into the lower end of the market," the questioner said. "How do you do that for a robot humanoid?"
"Well I guess you'll just have to see," Musk said.
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
Crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for a massive fraud that unravelled with the collapse of FTX, once one of the world's most popular platforms for exchanging digital currency.
Peggy is a stout and muscular Staffordshire bull terrier, and Molly is a magpie, an Australian bird best known for swooping on humans during breeding season, not for befriending dogs. But in an emotional video posted online, Peggy’s owners announced that the animals had been separated.
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
B.C. conservation officers recently seized a nine-foot-long Burmese python from a home in Chilliwack.
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
The Ontario government is introducing changes to auto-insurance, but some experts say the move is ill-advised.
Newfoundland’s unique version of the Pine Marten has grown out of its threatened designation.
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
A Toronto man is out $12,000 after falling victim to a deepfake cryptocurrency scam that appeared to involve Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
It started small with a little pop tab collection to simply raise some money for charity and help someone — but it didn’t take long for word to get out that 10-year-old Jace Weber from Mildmay, Ont. was quickly building up a large supply of aluminum pop tabs.
There’s a group of people in Saskatoon that proudly call themselves dumpster divers, and they’re turning the city’s trash into treasure.
Ontario is facing a larger than anticipated deficit but the Doug Ford government still plans to balance its books before the next provincial election.