This article was originally published on The Conversation in March 2021, ahead of Robinhood’s initial public offering. The company went public in July 2021.The original article, which mentions pre-IPO Robinhood, is reproduced below: [https://www.ft.com/content/81e9871b-5d12-480b-87a8-454b69e11958] Wall Streethas longbeen likenedto a casino. Robinhood, an investment app thatjust filed plans for an initial public offering, makes the comparisonmore apt than ever. That’s because the power of the casino is the way it makes people feel like gambling their money away is a game....

Take me to your leader(s). Waymo CEO John Krafcik today stepped down from his leadership position at the Google sister company. According to an email posted to thecompany’s blog, he’ll maintain an advisory role. Replacing him will be not one, but two Waymo executives: former COO Tekedra Mawakana and former CTO Dmtri Dolgov. The timing of Krafcik’s departure is notable in that the company’s entering a new phase of development. Waymo wasreportedlyplanning to expand its budding robo-taxi service before the pandemic struck....

TLDR:The RoboKiller Spam Call and Text Blocker eliminates 90 percent of the spam phone calls and texts you receive — and now, it’s almost 50 percent off. Last month, Americans receivedan estimated 5.3 billion spam calls. While that’s an insane number of needless wastes of time and stupid distractions, it actually represents a 5 percent decrease from the numbers posted in April. But don’t cheer too loudly just yet for a blow struck against scammers....

Robotaxis are a hot business in China with autonomous cars from multiple companies already on the streets. But who’s gonna come out on top? Self-driving startup AutoX has once again thrown its hat into the ring, to get the sought-after crown. At the Crowne Plaza Shanghai Anting yesterday, the company launched the upgraded AutoX Gen5 system, promising to offer better navigation capability, enhanced safety, and overall “superiority to the competitor’s systems....

Researchers atNorthwestern Universityare developing robot fish to help them better understand movement systems and how they work with sensory systems. By experimenting with robots that move like fish, they’re able to record how the robot fish moves and apply the findings to technology. The electric fish swim in natural environments such as The Amazon, and they omit weak electric fields while being able to sense and move in all directions (omnidirectional sensing and omnidirectional movement)....