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A humanoid robotics startup co-founded by prominent artificial-intelligence futurist Ray Kurzweil said on Tuesday that venture capital firm Gauntlet Ventures will back its $100 million Series B funding round. The company, Beyond Imagination, will be valued at $500 million, and venture capital firm Gauntlet Ventures will be the round’s sole investor. Kurzweil is known for popularizing the term “the singularity,” when he predicted two decades ago that by 2045, artificial intelligence would surpass human intelligence and embark on a path of accelerating self-enhancement. These ideas, which once seemed like science fiction, are now viewed as mainstream by many technologists. Beyond Imagination is co-founded by scientist, entrepreneur and filmmaker Harry Kloor. The company has developed a humanoid robotthe Beyond Botand accompanying AI models that it intends to deploy in industrial settings such as factories, pharmaceutical plants and chip manufacturing facilities, said Gauntlet Ventures co-founder Oliver Carmack. The company has been testing its robots and is now looking for large enterprises into which they can be deployed, Carmack said, adding that he chose to back Beyond Imagination because of its potential to revolutionize U.S. manufacturing and address the projected global shortage of skilled labor. Major tech companies including Nvidia, Meta Platforms and Tesla, alongside various startups, are rushing to make humanoid robots, and are betting that recent advances in AI will also lead to breakthroughs in robots and automation. In October last year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that “a lot of progress” has been made with its humanoid robot, Optimus, which could perform many daily tasks. Progress on robots has been slow, however, as researchers have found that the language-related AI breakthroughs driving chatbot development have not necessarily helped with understanding of the physical world. Many companies are spending enormous sums to collect the real-world training data necessary to train models that can power robots. In addition to humanoid robots, Beyond Imagination is also developing Aura, which co-founder Kloor described as a universal operating system for intelligent manufacturing, allowing humans, robots and legacy machines to work together. Beyond Imagination has attracted an eclectic roster of advisers, including former Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs, motivational speaker Tony Robbins, and onetime Paramount Pictures chairman Jim Gianopulos. Dawn Chmielewski and Anna Tong, Reuters
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Women may be at a heightened risk for being edged out of their job (or having their duties change) due to AI. According to a new study, jobs disproportionately done by women, especially in higher income countries, are more steadily becoming automated. The joint study, which comes from the United Nations’ International Labour Organization (ILO) and Polands National Research Institute (NASK), was released today. It assessed the ways in which generative AI is reshaping the world, as well as how it changes the role of human beings. We went beyond theory to build a tool grounded in real-world jobs. By combining human insight, expert review, and generative AI models, weve created a replicable method that helps countries assess risk and respond with precision, said Pawel Gmyrek, ILO senior researcher and lead author, in a statement included in the study. How AI is changing jobs The report found that globally about one in four people have a job with generative AI exposure, meaning their jobs had the potential to be performed by AI. Researchers also found a significant contrast between how at-risk women’s jobs were versus men’s. They found that the jobs that had the greatest risk of being performed by AI made up 9.6% of female employment compared to just 3.5% of jobs typically held by men. Administrative tasks, most commonly performed in clerical jobs, were at the greatest risk, but jobs in media, software, and finance were also at notable risk, as well. The researchers noted that rather than AI taking over employees’ jobs completely, human roles will, more commonly, evolve with the technology. We stress that such exposure does not imply the immediate automation of an entire occupation, but rather the potential for a large share of its current tasks to be performed using this technology, the report explained. Shaping the future of work The study’s authors also noted that governments, social dialogue, and worker organizations will be important in determining AI’s growing impact on the workforce in the future. This index helps identify where GenAI is likely to have the biggest impact, so countries can better prepare and protect workers,” said Marek Troszyński, one of the researchers and a senior expert at NASK. Still, when it comes to women’s work, it’s not the first bad news about the impact of AI. A 2025 report from the World Economic Forum and LinkedIn found that AI is making the gender gap worse. It showed that women are currently in fewer roles being augmented by AI, and more in those disrupted by the technology. Currently 33.7% of women work in occupations that are being disrupted, compared to just 25.5% of men.
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There is a new landmark at the home of the Chicago White SoxSection 140, Row 19, Seat 2.That’s where Father Bobthe future Pope Leo XIVsat for Game 1 of the 2005 World Series.The White Sox unveiled a graphic installation Monday that pays tribute to the new pontiff and that moment during their last championship run. The pillar artwork features a waving Pope Leo XIV, along with a picture from the TV broadcast of the future pope sitting with good friend Ed Schmit and his grandson, Eddie.The team also is planning to do something to commemorate the Rate Field seat the pope occupied during the 2005 World Series opener.“When people come into the ballpark, it’s an interesting piece of our history and they’re going to want to see it,” said Brooks Boyer, the chief executive and marketing officer for the White Sox. “So we’re going to be able to put something on that seat.”Robert Prevost became the first pope from the U.S. in the history of the Catholic Church when he was elected on May 8. The Chicago-born missionary, who took the name Leo XIV, is a White Sox fan, according to his friends and family.Prevost attended the World Series opener with Schmit, a longtime season-ticket holder who died in 2020. The White Sox beat the Houston Astros 5-3 on their way to a four-game sweep for the title.Eddie Schmit, 25, who works in the family’s day-care business, described the future pope as a great guy and kindhearted.“A lot of this is about the White Sox. It should be more about what kind of guy the pope is,” Schmit said. “You look at some of the things he’s done with his missions, I mean it’s incredible. He’s been in places that are so poor, just trying to help other people.”Prevost and Schmit knew each other through their work at a Catholic high school on Chicago’s South Side, and Schmit’s son, Nick, remains the account holder for the pope’s World Series seat.Ed Schmit used to tell Father Bob he was going to be the next pope, Schmit’s daughter, Heidi Skokal, said.“Right around when my dad was passing, Father Bob made sure, he couldn’t be there, but made sure he spoke with him and everything,” an emotional Skokal said. “And he said, ‘Father Bob, Father Bob, I know you’re going to be the next pope. I may not be here to see it.’ And he goes, ‘But I’ll be definitely looking down.’ And I’m sure he is today.”The White Sox, who have struggled on the field in recent years, and their fans have embraced their connection to the new pope since he was elected. The team said it sent a jersey and a hat to the Vatican after the announcement.Some fans have been dressing as the pope for White Sox games, and there are several different T-shirts that celebrate the team’s most famous fan.“The pope absolutely has an open invite to come back,” Boyer said. “To come sit in Section 140, to throw out a first pitch. Heck, maybe we’ll let him get an at-bat.” AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb Jay Cohen, AP Baseball Writer
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