Uber’s fatal autonomous car crash is a direct result of how it has been running its self-driving project. That’s according to Alex Roy, Founder of The Human Driving Association, who says the ride-hailing company’s approach is in stark contrast to one of its rivals.
“There’s a lot of indication that Waymo’s doing this correctly. They’re taking their time, it’s a slow and steady approach,” Roy explained, citing the fact that Waymo has so far racked up about 4 million miles of testing while Uber has half of that in the books.
Meanwhile, “there’s every indication...that Uber has an existential need to get self-driving cars on the road because drivers cost so much.”
Uber faced major backlash this week after one of its driverless cars struck and killed a pedestrian in Tempe, Ariz., Sunday.
It is the first known fatality by an autonomous vehicle and raises questions about the future of self-driving auto industry overall.
On Thursday, Tempe police released video footage from the car’s cameras to show exactly what happened. The local police and the National Transportation Safety Board are still investigating who is to blame, but earlier in the week Tempe police said Uber will “likely not be at fault.”
“There are methods of testing self-driving vehicles, they are just going to be more tedious...that’s going to take a lot more time,” said Roy, pointing out that companies can test in closed environments and by using computer simulation instead.
“It’s not a coincidence that it’s Uber who had this crash.”
On Friday, a [New York Times report](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/23/technology/uber-self-driving-cars-arizona.html) uncovered that even before the crash, Uber's autonomous vehicle unit was struggling to meet internal expectations and required more human intervention than its rivals.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-dangers-of-self-driving-tech).
Nvidia reported a 56% increase in second-quarter revenue and a 59% rise in net income compared to a year ago.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos claims audiences don't want to watch Netflix movies in theaters, but that seems not to be the case recently.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.
