What’s Lost When the Human Drivers Are Gone?
This week on Uncanny Valley, we look ahead into a future where driverless cars are mainstream.
Business
Google’s Gemini Robotics AI Model Reaches Into the Physical World
In sci-fi tales, artificial intelligence often powers all sorts of clever, capable, and occasionally homicidal robots. A revealing limitation of today’s best AI is that, for now, it remains squarely trapped inside the chat window. Google DeepMind signaled a plan to change that today—presumably minus the homicidal part—by announcing a new version of its AI…
The Worst 7 Years in Boeing’s History—and the Man Who Won’t Stop Fighting for Answers
After the October hearing, the families joined Pierson and Jacobsen at a Mexican restaurant. A boom mic from a documentary crew hovered above Pierson’s head. Jacobsen pulled out a suitcase from under the table, and Pierson handed out glass awards, from their foundation, honoring the families’ leadership on aviation safety. Pierson improvised a speech for…
What’s Driving Tesla’s Woes? | WIRED
However, there has been the feeling that at least some of the fall could be due to anger over Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s political activism and the decisions made by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency under his leadership. Since mid-February, Tesla showrooms have attracted protesters in 100 or so cities across the US, eager…
The DOJ Still Wants Google to Sell Off Chrome
The US Department of Justice wants Google to sell off its Chrome browser as part of its final remedy proposal in a landmark antitrust case. The proposal, filed Friday afternoon, says that Google must “promptly and fully divest Chrome, along with any assets or services necessary to successfully complete the divestiture, to a buyer approved…
A Look at a Very Silicon Valley Approach to Repopulation
Michael Calore: I sit by the window here in the WIRED office, and when I look out the window, I look right on the Bay Bridge and I see Cybertrucks all day. Zoë Schiffer: Oh my gosh. Lauren Goode: It’s almost like the Cybertrucks are just reproducing in real time. They’re spawning, they’re spawning more…
Chatbots, Like the Rest of Us, Just Want to Be Loved
Chatbots are now a routine part of everyday life, even if artificial intelligence researchers are not always sure how the programs will behave. A new study shows that the large language models (LLMs) deliberately change their behavior when being probed—responding to questions designed to gauge personality traits with answers meant to appear as likeable or…
How Trump’s Tariffs Will Disrupt Key Industries in Mexico
The US government has imposed tariffs of 25 percent on all imports from Mexico and Canada. The measure promoted by Donald Trump threatens the free-trade system that the three countries have maintained for more than 30 years. Even before the confirmation that the tariffs went into effect on March 4, Marcelo Ebrard, head of the…
Trump’s FDA Cuts Are Putting Drug Development at Risk
Budget and staffing cuts at the Food and Drug Administration orchestrated by President Donald Trump could prevent new drugs “from being developed, approved, or commercialized in a timely manner, or at all,” according to dozens of annual reports sent by pharmaceutical companies to the Securities and Exchange Commission in late February. “The Trump Administration has…
DOGE’s Misplaced War on Software Licenses
Because agencies sometimes get bulk or government-specific discounts, it can also be more affordable to buy software licenses on behalf of their private contractors. “It’s a very clear way for agencies to manage costs,” the ex-official says. Every government agency has its own unique structure, including many subagencies or units, each with their own software…