Xi Jinping recently secured his third term as China's president – so we're looking at two shocks to the world's second-largest economy. First: How China's housing boom turned into a real estate crisis. Second: How the recent U.S. ban on selling advanced semiconductor chips to China could affect China's technology industry.

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We used to think some jobs were safe from automation. Though machines have transformed industries like agriculture and manufacturing, the conventional wisdom was that they could never perform what's called "knowledge work." That the robots could never replace lawyers or accountants — or journalists, like us.

Well, ever since the release of artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT, it feels like no job is safe. AI can now write essays, generate computer code, and even pass the bar exam. Will work ever be the same again?

Here at Planet Money, we are launching a new three-part series to understand what this new AI-powered future looks like. Our goal: to get the machines to make an entire Planet Money show.

In this first episode, we try to teach the AI how to write a script for us from scratch. Can the AI do research for us, interview our sources, and then stitch everything together in a creative, entertaining way? We're going to find out just how much of our own jobs we can automate — and what work might soon look like for us all.

(And, in case you're wondering... this text was not written by an AI.)

This episode was produced by Emma Peaslee and Willa Rubin. It was edited by Keith Romer. Maggie Luthar engineered this episode. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Jess Jiang is Planet Money's acting executive producer.

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In Part 1 of this series, AI proved that it could use real research and real interviews to write an original script for an episode of Planet Money. Our next task was to teach the computer how to sound like us. How to read that script aloud like a Planet Money host.

On today's show, we explore the world of AI-generated voices, which have become so lifelike in recent years that they can credibly imitate specific people. To test the limits of the technology, we attempt to create our own synthetic voice by training a computer on recordings of former Planet Money host Robert Smith. Then we introduce synthetic Robert to his very human namesake.

There are a lot of ethical, and economic, questions raised by a technology that can duplicate anyone's voice. To help us make sense of it all, we seek the advice of an artist who has embraced AI voice clones: the musician Grimes.

This episode was produced by Emma Peaslee and Willa Rubin, with help from Sam Yellowhorse Kesler. It was edited by Keith Romer and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Engineering by James Willetts. Jess Jiang is our acting executive producer.

We built a Planet Money AI chat bot. Help us test it out: Planetmoneybot.com.

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In China, data on the economy is sometimes difficult to come by. The Chinese government has put a pause on releasing some of its official economic data. But many of the stories emerging from the country paint a clear picture: the second largest economy in the world is struggling.

Today, our friends at The Indicator share some of their recent reporting on China. First up, it's a special edition of the Beigie Awards focused entirely on China. What can the approach of the Federal Reserve's Beige Book - i.e. looking at anecdotes that tell us something about where the economy is headed - show us about China's economy?

Then, we take a deep dive into one of the most alarming indicators in China: the skyrocketing urban youth unemployment rate.

This episode was hosted by Darian Woods, Wailin Wong, and Robert Smith. The original Indicator episodes were produced by Corey Bridges with engineering by Robert Rodriguez. They were fact-checked by Cooper Katz McKim and Sierra Juarez. They were edited by Paddy Hirsch and Kate Concannon.

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China's economic growth for the past few decades has been extraordinary. And much of that growth was fueled by real estate – it was like this miraculous economic engine for the country. But recently, that engine seems to have stopped working. And that has raised all kinds of questions not just for China but also for the global economy.

Today on the show, we look at what's happening inside China's real estate market. And we try to answer the question: how did we get here?

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Episodes each Wednesday through labor day. Find all the episodes from this season here. And past seasons here. And follow along on TikTok here for video Summer School.

In the middle of the twentieth century, China and its neighbors in East Asia were poor, mostly rural economies. China had been wrecked by a brutal civil war. Taiwan became the home of people fleeing from that conflict. Japan and Korea were rebuilding after their own wars. And then in the later half of the twentieth century, they started their comeback. The governments made some explicit choices that unleashed the power of individual incentives and free market forces and lifted millions of people out of poverty. We focus specifically on China and Taiwan during this time, when they showed a burst of economic progress rarely seen on this globe. Why then? Why there? Can other nations copy that? We'll try to find out.

This series is hosted by Robert Smith and produced by Audrey Dilling. Our project manager is Devin Mellor. This episode was edited by Planet Money Executive Producer Alex Goldmark and fact-checked by Sofia Shchukina.

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More than test scores or good grades—what do kids need for the future? This hour, TED speakers explore how to help children grow into better humans, both during and after this time of crisis. Guests include educators Richard Culatta and Liz Kleinrock, psychologist Thomas Curran, and writer Jacqueline Woodson.

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Are we alone in the universe? Are we one of a crowd? This hour, we travel the cosmos with TED science curator David Biello, exploring where we are in the search for alien life.

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A new study finds higher temperatures increase evaporation enough to cause drought without any reduction in precipitation.

Toronto, ON – Seven faculty members at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management have received awards for achievements in research and teaching. Four faculty members were awarded with the 2016 Roger Martin Awards for Excellence in Research and Teaching. Established by Prof. Roger Martin, a former Dean of the Rotman School, the awards are […]

Sunnyvale, CA – Deep learning will transform medicine, but not in the way that many advocates think. Biological complexity, rare mutations and confounding factors work against us, so that even if we sequence 100,000 genomes, it won’t be enough. Brendan Frey is engineering the future of personalized medicine. A professor in the University of Toronto’s Faculty […]

Toronto, ON –  Machine learning and artificial intelligence are poised to revolutionize the way companies do business in the fields of healthcare, transportation, and materials research. With the launch of the new Vector Institute, Toronto is quickly becoming a hub for machine learning development. Following this momentum is a three-part limited edition CIFAR seminar series, […]

The Chinese New Year began February 1, 2022! Every year, all Meadow Brook artists collaboratively create a Chinese Dragon to celebrate the new Lunar year. Each student created a part of this great dragon in art class. Zoom in to see each individually drawn dragon scale design! This year’s dragon is led by Principal Shaw […]

The post Student Artwork for the Chinese New Year appeared first on Forest Hills Public Schools.

Toronto, ON — A new study from the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab identifies security and privacy issues in QQ Browser, a mobile browser produced by China-based Internet giant Tencent, which may put many millions of users of the application at risk of serious compromise. Citizen Lab researchers identified problems in both the Android and […]

How our billion-year-old cousin, baker’s yeast, can reveal — more reliably than leading algorithms — whether a genetic mutation is actually harmful.Toronto, ON – It’s easier than ever to sequence our DNA, but doctors still can’t exactly tell from our genomes which diseases might befall us. Professor Fritz Roth is setting out to change this by […]

On this episode, we get in the holiday spirit with a tale about a very special Xmas. Then, we discuss how directors can shape Moth stories. This episode is hosted by Kate Tellers.

Storyteller:

Peter Aguero

China is achieving a new level of global competitiveness, thanks to its hyper-adaptive population.

Should you always be looking for another job, never make a lateral move, or be sure to stay at a job for two years? There's a lot of conflicting advice out there. HBR's Amy Gallo helps you sort the myths from the facts.

American shoppers will have to pay between $1.6 billion and $3.2 billion more for connected devices such as gateways, modems, routers, smart speakers, smartwatches and other Bluetooth enabled products.

For someone not in the education industry (word used on purpose), I spend a lot of time thinking about education. Just like work issues, the constant and daily reality of school tends to hit you over the head until you just have to pay attention. The thing on my mind today is how much we force kids to record about their lives. Our schools today encourage and often require kids to monitor and measure ...

For quality assurance purposes and to optimize the manufacturing workflow, machine vision is employed throughout the entire process to identify production errors, damage, or impurities early on.

We will explore the use of CMMs, advancements in technology, and their growing contribution to support leading developments in automation, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.

System integration strategies vary by industry and project scale. Success relies on thorough planning and execution, especially in machine vision technology. Here are key integration elements for success with vision technologies.

Labor shortages continue to pressure manufacturers, with some dedicating up to 20% of their workforce to manual inspection. Embracing Quality 4.0 with automated in-line inspections and AI process analytics could provide significant value.

In this article we survey key considerations when making a lens selection. Of course, your lensing professional will be happy to advise – but they’ll ask you some of these questions anyway, so it’s helpful to make notes relative to your planned application.

The famous quote "Adapt or die" applies to businesses like Kodak and Blockbuster, which missed out on opportunities by not embracing new technologies. This concept also applies to industries like manufacturing and logistics today.

Quality spoke with David Dechow of Machine Vision Source following his recent presentation at The Quality Show South about vision solutions for quality applications and integration that drives application success with current and emerging technologies.

In the fast-paced and dynamic world of manufacturing, one trend is clear: short-wave infrared (SWIR) imaging and sensing is revolutionizing the industry.

Industry solutions and products rely on common standards and interfaces, enabling seamless collaboration and increasing efficiency.

Machine vision has evolved significantly over the past forty years, and the demand for specialized solutions has increased in recent years. This article will explore current and future imaging requirements.

The growing use of AI in manufacturing has revolutionized quality control. Traditional inspection methods struggle to keep pace with complex production processes, but AI augments accuracy and efficiency, upholding high-quality standards.

Machine vision projects often face challenges such as slow progress, difficulty in getting quotes, cost overruns, and unreliable operation. These issues require recognizing and adapting to the unique nature of machine vision projects compared to other types of projects.

Machine vision can measure with greater precision and accuracy than human vision. This series starts by exploring techniques for high-precision measurements in vision systems. The next installments will examine challenges and solutions for maintaining this precision and accuracy. First, we'll clarify key terms related to measurement accuracy.

The first part of this three-part series covered the principles that allow machine vision to make high-accuracy measurements. This second part examines challenges that the measurement environment imposes on machine vision and gives approaches to mitigate the effects and retain much of the high-accuracy capability.

Initially seen as science fiction, machine vision in manufacturing faced hesitance due to high costs and lack of awareness. However, interest has surged, shifting the focus from "Can it be done?" to "How will we do it?" This reflects significant transformative changes in the industry.

The first part of this series covered the basic principles that make high-accuracy measurements possible for machine vision. The second part of the series looked at challenges to accurate measurements due to the application conditions. This third part looks at characteristics and components of the vision system that can limit the achievable accuracy.

As businesses increasingly rely on machine vision to enhance quality, improve productivity, and increase the bottom line, technology providers are relying more on industrial computing solutions that enable faster processing speeds and higher efficiency, or that support new tasks altogether. 

It is impossible to overestimate the critical nature of keen and constant visual inspection in any production process. That’s why an advanced vision system is vital for any of today’s advanced production lines – as well as for “yesterday’s” older and more issue-prone lines. 

Success of the industry again produces record numbers for VISION 2018.

When the materials testing application calls for up to 3,000 kN of hydraulic force applied by advanced digital control, Tinius Olsen offers its all-new SL series, replacing the company’s Super L series.

ABB has launched its new OmniVance™ Collaborative Machine Tending Cell, providing a complete integrated solution for automated machine tending that is easy to program, install and use.

Mahr Inc. announced a new solution for contour measurement.

Verisurf Software, Inc. demonstrated its new Machine Tool Probing (MTP) suite at IMTS 2024. 

The aerospace industry constantly seeks new technologies for a competitive edge and enhanced capability. AI and maching learning in additive manufacturing offer significant value for meeting industry needs.

Reed Switch Developments Corp. (RSD), a woman-owned manufacturer in Racine, WI, specializes in magnetic reed switches and sensors. Recognized as last year’s Quality Plant of the Year, RSD has achieved a 25% increase in sales year-to-date, leveraging in-house technical expertise and automation to manage growth amid rising costs and economic uncertainty.

We explore two critical applications of AI and ML in quality management: predictive quality analytics and automated quality inspections.

Regulatory bodies like the FDA and MHRA are adapting guidelines to accommodate the evolving AI landscape, stressing the importance of innovative compliance approaches alongside traditional software regulations, including audit trails, electronic records, and signatures.

The manufacturing industry relies on precision for safety and performance. Shaft measurement instruments are crucial for ensuring the functionality of mechanical systems.

Coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) play a crucial role in verifying the dimensions of manufactured parts with precision control. CMM controllers are central to coordinating movements and processing data, driving technological advancements in the metrology industry.