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Weekend Reads: Even tiny fly brains can do many things computers can’t. This 2014 feature showed why making machines much smarter might require processors that more closely mimic brains.

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This weekend we revisit stories from MIT Technology Review’s archives that weigh the question of how far AI can go—and when.

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Analyzing expressions is an increasingly hot topic among tech companies.

It’s not clear what it plans to do with it yet, but Apple has gobbled up a startup whose technology can read facial expressions.

The tech giant has reportedly acquired Emotient, a San Diego-based company that uses artificial technology to detect emotion from facial expressions, Apple confirmed to The Wall Street Journal. The company’s technology has primarily been used by advertisers, doctors, and retailers, though it’s not clear what Apple AAPL 0.66% plans to do with it.

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Johnny Matheny is the first person to attach a mind-controlled prosthetic limb directly to his skeleton. After losing his arm to cancer in 2008, Johnny signed up for a number of experimental surgeries to prepare himself to use a DARPA-funded prosthetic prototype. The Modular Prosthetic Limb, developed by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, allows Johnny to regain almost complete range of motion through the Bluetooth-controlled arm. (Video by Drew Beebe, Brandon Lisy) (Source: Bloomberg)

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Yup, you read that headline right. A Chinese UAV company named Ehang just unveiled the world’s first autonomous flying taxi.

The plainly-named 184 drone is essentially a giant quadcopter designed to carry a single passenger — and it needs no pilot. Inside the cockpit, there are absolutely zero controls. No joystick, no steering wheel, no buttons, switches, or control panels — just a seat and a small tablet stand.

To fly it, the user simply hops in the cockpit, fires up the accompanying mobile app, and chooses a destination. From that point onward, you’re just along for the ride. The drone takes care of all the piloting and navigation autonomously — so you supposedly don’t need a pilot’s license to use it.

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