Friday, July 18
Headlines
Uber
Uber inks $300+ million deals for new robotaxi service. The global ride-hailing leader is getting serious about autonomous vehicles. Uber announced it’s investing $300 million in EV-maker Lucid and a similar amount in tech startup Nuro to launch a new robotaxi program that could compete with Waymo. The goal is to deploy 20,000 autonomous EVs over the next six years, starting in 2026 in a “major US city.” The deals with Lucid and Nuro underscore Uber’s strategy to outsource its robotaxi technology rather than develop it in-house as it seeks to become the go-to service for autonomous rides. Uber’s stock was mostly unchanged following the news, but Lucid’s soared nearly 40%.
New details in the Air India crash investigation. According to dialogue of the plane’s two pilots recorded by its black box, the captain, Sumeet Sabharwal, turned off fuel switches to the engines after it took off, the Wall Street Journal reported. The first officer reportedly questioned the captain’s actions before he “expressed surprise and then panicked,” while the captain remained “calm.” The investigation has not yet determined whether or not the switches were shut off on purpose. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed shortly after takeoff last month, killing all but one of its 242 passengers and crew.
Netflix can’t stop winning. If Wall Street has expectations, Netflix is probably going to beat them. The streaming giant reported its Q2 financials yesterday, posting $11.1 billion in revenue (up 16% from the same period last year and ahead of estimates) while adjusting its full-year forecast up to as high as $45.2 billion. Netflix stopped divulging its subscriber figures earlier this year in order to emphasize revenue and profits...which appear to be impressing investors as much as intended. Its stock is up nearly 44% so far this year as the company has increased prices and continued to promote its ad-supported option. Netflix also debuted the trailer for the final season of Stranger Things, set to come out in three parts starting on Nov. 26.—AE
Robert Reich
Friends,
I’m old enough to remember when corporate lobbyists swarmed Capitol Hill. I also remember when half the members of Congress who retired got lucrative lobbying jobs taking their old chums out for meals or drinks and selling them on whatever the corporate backers wanted.
No longer. Now, the lobbying business is all about sucking up to Trump.
Harvard sociologist Theda Skocpol calls it “competitive sycophancy,” in which
“competing sets of people [vie] to flatter him and manipulate resources and rules to his personal and family advantage. They do one extreme thing after another, try to outdo each other, and he chooses who to back, with shifts and chaos and unpredictability week after week.”
In a new story for New York magazine, Washington correspondent Ben Terris reports on how Washington’s lobbying class has been reshaped in Trump’s second term.
At A Glance
DNA evidence points to women-led society in ancient China.
TikTok trend suggests path to retire with $4M.
See a robot artist's painting of King Charles. (w/video)
Florida residents rescue four people in a small plane crash.
... and handwritten notes save mother and son lost in California.
Top summer reading genres, by state.
"Superman" movie drives up interest in dog adoption.
See photos of vintage fast food restaurants.
Clickbait: Sloths do, in fact, toot.
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> The 153rd British Open kicks off today at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland; see preview and opening-round tee times (More)
> Main stage of Belgium's Tomorrowland music festival destroyed by fire just two days before the event was set to begin (More)
> Robin Kaye, longtime "American Idol" executive, shot and killed at age 70 alongside her husband at Los Angeles home (More) | Audun Groenvold, Olympic bronze medal-winning skier, dies at age 49 after being struck by lightning (More)
Science & Technology
> Researchers confirm a slight difference in the decay of certain types of subatomic particles, a phenomenon known as breaking charge-parity symmetry; may help explain why the universe is filled with matter instead of antimatter (More) | Inside CERN's antimatter factory (1440 Topics)
> The brain utilizes channels in the lining of its blood vessels to direct blood flow to regions requiring more energy, depending on the task; new study may lead to preventive treatments for neurodegenerative diseases (More)
> Toxic algae blooms release "antivitamins" into the surrounding environment, inhibiting the growth of other algae species and allowing them to spread more quickly (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +0.3%, Dow +0.5%, Nasdaq +0.3%) after President Donald Trump denied reports he was planning to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell (More) | Ranking all the Fed chairs since 1914 (1440 Topics)
> Meta begins trial over $8B privacy lawsuit filed by shareholders (More) | Scale AI to lay off 200 full-time employees, or about 14% of its global staff, and cut ties with 500 contractors; comes a month after Meta invested $14.3B in the startup (More)
> The US plans to send letters to 150 countries, notifying their leaders of tariffs expected to go into effect Aug. 1 (More) | How world trade depends on the dollar (1440 Topics)
Politics & World Affairs
> Department of Homeland Security expands third-country deportation program, sending five immigrant detainees from various countries to the southern African nation of Eswatini (More) | Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fires two top deputies at the Department of Health and Human Services, reason not immediately clear (More)
> Senate advances $9B package of spending cuts to foreign aid and public broadcasting; package spares $400M global AIDS relief program (More) | Mandatory versus discretionary federal spending (1440 Topics)
> Volcano erupts in southwestern Iceland, forcing more than 100 to evacuate; officials say the molten rock isn't threatening infrastructure (More) | See footage (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
Artificial Intelligence & Humanoid Robots
.jpg)
- Artificial Intelligence
- Humanoid Robots
- Soldier Robots
- Attack Drones
- Autonomous Transportation
MS Office 365 has an AI service call COPILOT... I asked what can AI do for human beings. Here's the answer:
AI's potential to enhance human life is both vast and evolving. It’s not just about replacing tasks—it’s about amplifying possibility. Here’s a breakdown of how AI is already serving human needs and reshaping the future:
🧠 Intelligence & Insight Data analysis: AI can process and detect patterns in massive datasets, from medical scans to economic indicators.
Forecasting: Whether it’s inflation rates or climate modeling, AI helps refine predictions that guide public policy and personal planning.
Personalized learning: Educational platforms use AI to tailor content to individual learning styles and progress.
🛠️ Labor & Automation Task automation: In manufacturing, logistics, and even desk jobs, repetitive tasks are streamlined, improving efficiency.
Job augmentation: AI can assist professionals—from radiologists to financial analysts—offering suggestions or flagging errors.
🌐 Access & Connection Language translation: Breaks down global communication barriers with real-time translation.
Assistive tech: Helps people with disabilities navigate the world—like screen readers, smart prosthetics, or speech-to-text systems.
Content creation: Aids in writing, designing, coding—boosting creativity, not replacing it.
🧬 Science & Medicine Drug discovery: AI helps accelerate research by predicting molecular behavior.
Diagnostics: Algorithms can spot signs of disease earlier than some human eyes.
Healthcare management: Improves resource allocation and patient care through smart scheduling and record analysis.
You're someone who thinks deeply about societal trends, economic shifts, and technological consequences. So here's a more forward-looking angle: AI might reshape the labor market, economic incentives, and educational structures. How do we maintain fairness and human dignity as we automate? How do we future-proof skills?
Care to explore that next?
Think about this answer for a while. Copilot has changed my life as a writer. I can ask it questions, ask it to do research, find out what restaurants were opened in a city in 1965 in a particular city.
Our future is now in the hands of AI and will soon be in the hands of robots as they replace our jobs.
How will we pay for the UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE?
Raise taxes???
We are in a transformation here in the USA and around the world. In order to support the power needs required by AI, our power plants (electricity) MUST double or triple current operations... This expansion cannot be accomplished using GREEN ENERGY!!!
That is another concept to PONDER... when you have time.
Narcissism and other dark personality traits linked to AI cheating in art universities
 |
| Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain |
In many countries, there is an academic cheating crisis with students misusing artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT to write essays, dissertations and other assignments. According to new research, certain personality traits make some students more likely to pass off AI-generated work as their own.
In a study published in BMC Psychology, Jinyi Song of South Korea's Chodang University and Shuyan Liu of Baekseok University surveyed 504 Chinese art students. They found that students who scored highly for dark personality traits like narcissism, machiavellianism and psychopathy (collectively known as "the Dark Triad") were more likely to rely on AI tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney to do their work.
Although previous studies have revealed a link between dark personality traits and academic dishonesty, most research has focused on general student populations, not on specific groups such as art students.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)