Special Report

AI & Robotics

Recyclers turn to AI-powered robots to counter China’s plastic import ban; historians harness machine learning to solve ancient puzzles; and farmers pick high-tech robotics to help bring in the harvest

© Shutterstock / August Phunitiphat
Recyclers turn to AI robots after waste import bans

Technology enables unpicking of everything from product logos to valuable car components

How AI helps historians solve ancient puzzles

Digital humanities battles for funding against future-focused applications of artificial intelligence

Coronavirus accelerates robot harvester’s rise

Labour shortfall gives new urgency to development of smart fruit and vegetable pickers

AI ‘scratching surface’ of scope in financial services

Tech can spot fraud and analyse sentiment as further advances are set to transform the sector

Anti-social robots harnessed to increase social distancing

Pandemic-driven push to cut workplace interaction buoys makers of automated carts

‘Death of the office’ homeworking claims exaggerated

AI-driven tech is accelerating the shift but cannot yet replicate creative meetings