Tharin Pillay

Tharin Pillay is an editorial fellow at TIME, interested in how AI and other digital technologies are changing us. He is currently supported by the Tarbell Fellowship.

Recent Articles

José Muñoz: TIME100 Climate

In recent years, nearly every car manufacturer has announced bold electric vehicle commitments—and many of them have backtracked when regulators, implementing climate targets, come knocking. Hyundai, the South Korea-based automaker—and the world’s number three car...

By Tharin Pillay

Wally Adeyemo: TIME100 Climate

In 2022, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a sweeping law that—among provisions aimed at lowering the cost of prescription medication and reforming tax law—contains the largest climate investment in U.S. history. An estimated...

By Tharin Pillay

Tzeporah Berman: TIME100 Climate

There is a “gaping hole” in international climate governance, says Tzeporah Berman, a longtime environmental activist. While the Paris Agreement requires countries to limit greenhouse gas emissions, it does nothing to constrain the production of...

By Tharin Pillay

What Donald Trump's Win Means For AI

Following a historic victory at the polls, what will a second Trump term mean for America's AI future?

By Harry Booth and Tharin Pillay

The Gap Between Open and Closed AI Models Might Be Shrinking

A new report by research organization Epoch AI found that open models available today are about a year behind the top closed models.

By Tharin Pillay

How AI Is Being Used to Respond to Natural Disasters in Cities

AI is spurring a new generation of earthquake monitoring and climate forecasting systems.

By Harry Booth and Tharin Pillay

A Protein Marketplace

After decades of research, scientists have identified millions of naturally occurring proteins. These proteins can be used as ingredients in foods and consumer-packaged goods to augment taste, texture, and other properties, but surprisingly, we still...

By Tharin Pillay

More Accurate Forecasts

Startup Atmo says its weather forecasting models, which use AI to learn from over 60 years of climate data, are up to 40,000 times faster, 100 times more detailed, and 50% more accurate than traditional...

By Tharin Pillay

A Hard-Working Humanoid Bot

In August, AI robotics startup Figure unveiled Figure 02, a battery-powered humanoid robot that packs advanced cameras and sensors that allow it to navigate the world into its nearly 155-pound frame. In trials this year...

By Tharin Pillay

Magic AI Mirror: 200 Best Inventions 2024

Magic AI’s sleek rectangular mirror aims to replace personal trainers. Using computer vision technology similar to that used in self-driving cars, the mirror guides users through strength training, counting reps and providing real-time feedback on...

By Tharin Pillay

Translate Yourself

New York–based AI startup Captions envisions “a world where the physical skill of recording and editing video is not a barrier that prevents people from communicating,” says co-founder and CEO Gaurav Misra. The Captions platform...

By Tharin Pillay

Mind-Blowing AI-Generated Video

In June, the AI startup Runway released its newest model—Gen-3 Alpha—capable of creating 10 second video clips when prompted with text, image, or video. The model “has learned 3D dynamics on its own,” says co-founder...

By Tharin Pillay

Supporting Healthcare Workers

Laguna Health, a “conversational intelligence” startup with staff in Tel Aviv and New York, is working to improve telephonic interactions between patients and care managers—typically nurses—who assist patients after they are discharged from the hospital....

By Tharin Pillay

TIME100 Impact Dinner London: AI Leaders Discuss Responsibility, Regulation, and Text as a ‘Relic of the Past’

On Tuesday, luminaries in the field of AI gathered at Serpentine North for the inaugural TIME100 Impact Dinner London.

By Tharin Pillay

Adam Met on Movement Building and Music

For Adam Met, founding member of indie pop band AJR, building a movement is not unlike building a following as an artist.

By Tharin Pillay

Kwame Owusu-Kesse

In May, the Harlem Children’s Zone announced a landmark strategy to chip away at the wealth gap. Over the course of the next year, the education nonprofit will invest $10,000 each on behalf of over...

By Tharin Pillay

Demis Hassabis

When Demis Hassabis co-founded DeepMind in 2010, he had a 20-year plan culminating in the creation of artificial general intelligence (AGI), an AI system that can do practically any cognitive task a human can. 14...

By Tharin Pillay

C.C. Wei

Dr. C.C. Wei is in charge of the world’s largest contract semiconductor manufacturer, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), having served its CEO since 2018, and its Chairman since June 2024. TSMC, whose clients include Apple,...

By Tharin Pillay

Sara Hooker

More than most AI researchers, Sara Hooker is aware of the social implications of her work. Despite her warm disposition, she is often “grumpy” about the field. “It stops me in my tracks,” she says....

By Tharin Pillay

Amandeep Singh Gill

Amandeep Singh Gill is at the forefront of global AI governance. As the United Nations Secretary General’s Envoy on Technology, he coordinates digital cooperation among member states, industry, and civil society, as well as within...

By Tharin Pillay
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