Category Archive for "Self-driving vehicles"

ZipDialog Roundup for Monday, March 27

By Charles Lipson
Monday, March 27, 2017 0 Biomedical research, Congress, Donald Trump, Environment and Pollution, Europe, Germany, House of Representatives, Obamacare and Repeal-Replace, Paul Ryan, Regulation and Deregulation, Republican Party, Science, Self-driving vehicles, US Healthcare System, ZipDialog Roundup of News Beyond the Front Page Angela Merkel, Freedom Caucus, Jared Kushner, Uber Permalink 0

Topics and articles chosen with care. Linked articles in bold purple

◆ Blame game for health care continues. WaPo reports Trump blames Freedom Caucus and far right. One member of the caucus, Ted Poe of Texas, resigns over health care failure.

Comment: No news here, IMO. Everybody blames everybody. But the main things to notice are (a) how little of the blame is attaching to Trump and (b) how unprepared the R’s were to govern after 7 years of making this issue their top priority.

◆ Jared Kushner selected to lead a White House team to overhaul the federal bureaucracy (Washington Post)

The White House Office of American Innovation, to be led by Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, will operate as its own nimble power center within the West Wing and will report directly to Trump. Viewed internally as a SWAT team of strategic consultants, the office will be staffed by former business executives and is designed to infuse fresh thinking into Washington, float above the daily political grind and create a lasting legacy for a president still searching for signature achievements. –Washington Post

Comment: Kushner, age 36 and Trump’s son-in-law, is a rising power in the White House. Taking on an arteriosclerotic bureaucracy, where almost everyone has civil-service protections, will be an enormous challenge.

◆ After months of political difficulty, Germany’s Angela Merkel gets very good news from a state election, which her party won easily (New York Times)

Ms. Merkel is seeking a fourth term in national elections on Sept. 24, a race that has grown more challenging in recent weeks after her center-left rivals, the Social Democrats, unanimously selected a new candidate, Martin Schulz, to lead them into the fight. –New York Times

Comment: Merkel’s long tenure as German leader has lent stability to Europe and the EU.

◆ Uber suspends its self-driving car program until it figures out why one crashed in Arizona (CNBC)

The accident occurred when the driver of a second vehicle “failed to yield” to the Uber vehicle while making a turn, said Josie Montenegro, a spokeswoman for the Tempe Police Department.

“The vehicles collided, causing the autonomous vehicle to roll onto its side,” she said in an email. “There were no serious injuries.” –CNBC

Comment: Sounds like the Uber vehicles did not initiate the crashes, and it is unclear to me whether better tech and programming could have avoided them. That, I assume, is what Uber wants to figure out.

◆ Cities and monuments switch off electricity for “Earth Hour” (Phys.org)

Comment: And they all get to pin “I’m Virtuous” Merit Badges on themselves.

◆ Scientists Turn Spinach Leaves into Beating-Heart Tissue (Science Alert)

Current bioengineering techniques, like 3-D printing, can’t build the intricate, branching network of blood vessels that makes up the heart tissue. However, a team of researchers from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), University of Wisconsin-Madison and Arkansas Sate University-Jonesboro have successfully turned to plants. –Science Alert

Comment: Popeye smiles.

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ZipDialog Roundup for Thursday, March 9

By Charles Lipson
Thursday, March 9, 2017 0 Anti-Semitism, Economy, FBI, Hamas, Intelligence agencies, ISIS, Islamic terrorism, Regulation and Deregulation, Self-driving vehicles, ZipDialog Roundup of News Beyond the Front Page Afghanistan, Cloud Computing, Uber, WikiLeaks Permalink 0

Hand-picked and farm-fresh–
⇒Linked articles in bold purple

◆ “Economy is emerging as the untold story of Trump’s first 100 days” and much of it is about the prospect of cutting red tape (NY Sun)

By every measure, the United States has been sinking into economic mediocrity over the last decade because of excessive regulation.

When President Obama took office in 2009, the United States ranked third among all nations as a place to do business. Since then it has plummeted to eighth, according to the World Bank. Why? Eight years ago, it took 40 days to get a construction permit in the United States. Today, it’s double that.

Regulatory overkill started long before Mr. Obama. But Mr. Donohue calls the last eight years a “regulatory onslaught that loaded unprecedented burdens on business and the economy.”

The Heritage Foundation, which grades nations on economic freedom, now puts the United States 17th in the world, our lowest-ever ranking. That’s below Chile, and former Soviet states like Estonia, Lithuania and Georgia. –Betsy McCaughey in New York Sun

Virtually the same story appears in Forbes, quoting top hedge-fund manager David Tepper on the growth impact of deregulation (Forbes)

◆ “FBI prepares for new hunt for WikiLeaks’ source” It is a very big deal (Washington Post)

The FBI has begun preparing for a major mole hunt to determine how anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks got an alleged arsenal of hacking tools the CIA has used to spy on espionage targets, according to people familiar with the matter.

The leak rattled government and technology industry officials, who spent Tuesday scrambling to determine the accuracy and scope of the thousands of documents released by the group. They were also trying to assess the damage the revelations may cause, and what damage may come from future releases promised by WikiLeaks, these people said. –Washington Post

The Wall Street Journal says the focus will be on CIA contractors

◆ The depths of depravity: ISIS terrorists, dressed as doctors, attack a major hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, killing 30 or more (CNN)

◆ Cloud computing services: Can Google complete with Amazon and Microsoft? They’ve spent $30 billion trying and they are “making some undeniable progress,” according to Business Insider.

◆ Uber gets permit to test autonomous cars in California, one of 20 companies now testing there. Uber is also testing self-driving vehicles in Pittsburgh. (PC World)

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ZipDialog Roundup for Tuesday, March 6

By Charles Lipson
Tuesday, March 7, 2017 1 China, Economy, Employment Unemployment, Energy, Entertainment, Healthcare, Movies, North Korea, Obamacare and Repeal-Replace, Oil, Self-driving vehicles, South Korea, Television, US foreign policy, US Healthcare System, ZipDialog Roundup of News Beyond the Front Page Ralph Kramden, Robert Osborne, Turner Classic Movies Permalink 1
Hand-picked and farm-fresh–
⇒Linked articles in bold purple

◆ The new healthcare bill, replacing Obamacare, has been introduced in the House. Keeps several key (and expensive) features of Obamacare and adds tax credits (direct cash payments) to help poor pay for coverage. No mandates.

As specialists begin offering detailed commentary, I will include summaries.

As political battlelines form, I will include stories and excerpts.

◆ Robert Osborne, warm and knowledgeable host of Turner Classic Movies, dead at 84. (New York Times)

He got us excited and reawakened to the greatest stories ever told with the most charismatic stars in the world. –Steven Spielberg on Robert Osborne

◆ Self-driving bus with no backup driver will soon be on the road in California. Part of a pilot program. (Reuters)

The bus project in San Ramon, at the Bishop Ranch office park complex, involves two 12-passenger shuttle buses from French private company EasyMile.

The project is backed by a combination of private companies and public transit and air quality authorities, with the intention of turning it into a permanent, expanded operation . . . .

California legislators late last year passed a law to allow slow-speed testing of fully autonomous vehicles without steering wheels or pedals on public roads, with the Bishop Ranch test in mind. –Reuters

◆ South Korea receives US missile defense system, strongly opposed by China (CNN)

Comment: Quick heads up for Beijing: A lot more of this is coming, including stronger US-Japanese ties, and you know why. It’s your wingman in Pyongyang, plus your own aggressive moves in the South China Sea. The THAAD missile system is, of course, solely to defend against North Korean missiles. China has a large arsenal that could overwhelm it.

◆ Big new Exxon investments in chemical and oil refining plants. $20 billion, 12k permanent jobs, plus 35k construction jobs building the plants in Texas and Louisiana (Reuters)

The plants had been planned for some time but their scope has grown significantly.

◆ New findings from the University of the Obvious: “Sex might make you happier at work, study says” (New York Daily News)

The U of O always does great work.

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ZipDialog’s Roundup of News Beyond the Front Page . . Saturday, February 11

By Charles Lipson
Saturday, February 11, 2017 0 Betsy DeVos, Campus Crazies, China, Donald Trump, Higher education, International relations, Japan, K-12 Education, Rex Tillerson, Robotics, Self-driving vehicles, Shinzo Abe, Teachers Unions, Tweets of Note, US foreign policy, Xi Jinping, ZipDialog Roundup of News Beyond the Front Page Elliott Abrams, Michael Barone Permalink 0

Hand-picked and farm-fresh–
⇒Linked articles in bold purple

◆ Trump rejects Tillerson’s choice for No. 2 at State, Elliott Abrams Tillerson wanted Abrams, an experienced strategist who had served in the Reagan Administration and in a more senior position under George W. Bush. Abrams had attracted opposition from both left (predictably) and some on the right for too close to neoconservatives and interventionists. (New York Times)

Mr. Trump had a productive meeting with Mr. Abrams on Tuesday, according to a White House official and a person close to Mr. Abrams. But after it took place, Mr. Trump learned of Mr. Abrams’s pointed criticisms of the president when he was running for president, the administration official said. Among those criticisms was a column headlined “When You Can’t Stand Your Candidate,” which appeared in May 2016 in The Weekly Standard. –New York Times

Comment: Trump’s decision appears to be based on personal pique and disloyalty, not policy issues, but we will learn more over the next few days.

◆ Newly-confirmed Sec. of Education, Betsy DeVos physically blocked from entering Washington, DC, elementary school (WJLA, ABC7)

The Washington Teacher’s Union organized a gathering outside of the school, but were not among the protesters who blocked her. –WJLA

She eventually made it into the school.

Comment: The Teacher’s Union peaceful protests are fully protected by the First Amendment. They are fine, whether you agree with their viewpoint or not. By contrast, the others, who tried to block DeVos entry and enter her car, deserve full-throated condemnation.

◆ Trump has very positive meeting with Japanese PM Abe, says US committed to defense of Japan (Reuters via CNBC) The US defense commitment represents a significant change from Trump’s rhetoric as a candidate

At the same time, Pres. Trump had a positive phone call with China’s leader, Xi, reaffirming Washington’s traditional “one-China” policy.

Comment: These are significant, positive steps to stabilize both deterrence (protecting Japan) and diplomacy (discussions with China).

◆ Michael Barone is worried–and for good reason–that liberals are not condemning street violence in the US

The response of liberal politicians? So far as I know, there has been almost none. At the Powerline blog John Hinderaker links to a Grabien video showing Democratic politicians and celebrities making statements that some may take as endorsements of violence, such as Sen. Tim Kaine’s urging followers to “fight in the streets.” I suspect he would claim that he was speaking metaphorically and only urging peaceful protest. But it would be nice if he could find time to condemn the violence we have seen at Berkeley — and which is increasingly unsurprising on our college and university campuses, which have become the part of our society most hostile to free speech. —Michael Barone on Berkeley riots in the Washington Examiner

Comment: My answer to Barone’s question: Liberal politicians probably do care, but they care more about their political standing. That means they do not want to alienate the highly-mobilized left, much of which supports the violence or is simply too cowardly to speak out again it.

◆ To help build its self-driving cars, Ford spends $1 Billion to buy majority stake in Silicon Valley startup (Detroit Free Press)

Comment: Ford is buying the expertise of Argo AI’s founders and their robotics expertise. Ford has already made considerable progress on its “virtual driver system”

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ZipDialog’s Roundup of News Beyond the Front Page . . Sunday, January 22

By Charles Lipson
Sunday, January 22, 2017 0 Artificial Intelligence, China, Donald Trump, Election 2016, Russia, Self-driving vehicles, Syria, Technology, ZipDialog Roundup of News Beyond the Front Page Amazon, Google, Tesla, Women's March Permalink 0

Hand-picked and farm-fresh–
⇒Linked articles in bold purple

◆ The huge marches around the country will undoubtedly energize the anti-Trump movement for months to come.

Comment: Some pro-Trump publications have emphasized minor violence, either around the marches or the inauguration. Yes, that happened, but that misses the larger point. These were massive demonstrations, organized quickly, and they had virtually no violence.

◆ This is an actual NBC headline: “Analysis: Russia’s Mideast Actions Show Bid for Superpower Status”

◆ A more serious report in the NYT: “Russia Signs Deal for Syria Bases”

◆ China’s consumer sector is sluggish and likely to get worse, says Gordon Chang in Forbes.

Chinese consumption grew in absolute terms in 2016 but fell as a percentage of gross domestic product.–Gordon Chang

Comment: Chang offers interesting, critical comments. To them, I would add one obvious problem: Chinese statistics are not trustworthy. They are tilted toward what the regime wants. So, when they show bad news, the news is really bad.

◆ Tesla putting second-generation autopilot into Model S and Model X cars It says it has done so since October. It also says it will limit “autosteer” to 45 mph. (The Verge)

Comment: The pace of AI in automobiles is staggering and, over the next 5-10 years, will lead to major changes in passenger transportation, public transit, and trucking.

◆ Tech giants Amazon and Google battle to be first in voice recognition Google Home versus Amazon Echo, which launched two years earlier.

Why should Google care about Amazon? Because voice is seen as the next big field for computer interaction, and the home is a far better environment for voice detection than the great outdoors. Research company Gartner reckons that by 2018, 30% of all interactions with devices will be voice-based, because people can speak up to four times faster than they can type, and the technology behind voice interaction is improving all the time. –The Guardian

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ZipDialog’s Roundup of News Beyond the Front Page . . Monday, January 9

By Charles Lipson
Monday, January 9, 2017 0 Big Data, Britain, Donald Trump, Iran, Iraq, Kim Jong Un, North Korea, Paul Ryan, Self-driving vehicles, ZipDialog Roundup of News Beyond the Front Page Boris Johnson, Google, Lena Dunham, Lola Kirke, Rafsanjani Permalink 0

Hand-picked and farm-fresh–
⇒Linked articles in bold purple

◆ Google is producing all the high-tech in its latest, self-driving cars

Google has modified Chrysler’s Pacific Minivans to become self-driving and, later this month, will put them on the roads. The roll-out (literally) starts in Phoenix and near its California headquarters.

Google’s first self-driving cars were Lexus sedans and included sensors produced by other companies. What’s different this time is that Google is producing the sensors and other high-tech features itself. The story is here at The Verge.

◆ Dead at 82: Iran’s former president Rafsanjani Reuters calls him “one of the titans” of Islamic State of Iran. He was sometimes called a “pragmatist,” but his so-called moderation was only moderate compared to the most severe clerics and the Revolutionary Guard. His most significant moment was in convincing the Ayatollah Khomeini to end the bloody Iran-Iraq War. Born wealthy, he amassed a vast fortunate in post-revolutionary Iran.

◆ North Korea tells Trump it can test missiles whenever it wants Trump has warned Pyongyang against test-firing intercontinental missiles, which could threaten the US with nuclear weapons, once they have been miniaturized. The danger is profound and could be one of the new President’s first tests. The NYT story is here.

◆ Britain’s foreign secretary, a key figure in Brexit, meets Trump team Boris Johnson is in New York to discuss future US-British relations, especially trade as his country withdraws from the EU. Currently, all British trade agreements are made through the EU so they will have to be renegotiated as part of the withdrawal. As CNN notes:

Trump billed himself on Twitter as “Mr. Brexit” and likened his unlikely victory to the shocking success of the “yes” vote in the UK referendum.–CNN

Boris Johnson, as Mayor of London, became a major voice for Brexit and was appointed foreign secretary after the referendum unexpectedly won.

◆ Actress I have never heard of really doesn’t like Paul Ryan According to New York Magazine, an actress named Lola Kirke wore a “F*ck Paul Ryan” to the Golden Globes. Seems like other people have heard of her because she stars in a TV series streaming on Amazon.

In related news, Lena Dunham, who promised to leave the country if Donald Trump was elected, has not moved, despite numerous requests from around the country.

Comment: Lena Dunham drew a clear red line and then declined to act when it was crossed. She has learned at foot of a strategic master.

◆ Pennsylvania Farm Show features a 1/2 ton butter sculpture Story here.

Comment: A spokesman for “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” declined comment.

◆ Uber begins selling its traffic data. The question, TechCrunch says, is whether the revenues will compensate for the competitive advantage it loses from disclosing this key information. Story here.

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ZipDialog’s Roundup of News Beyond the Front Page . .Monday, Dec. 26

By Charles Lipson
Monday, December 26, 2016 0 College Witch Hunts, Courts and the Law, Donald Trump, Kim Jong Un, North Korea, Self-driving vehicles, Technology, ZipDialog Roundup of News Beyond the Front Page Bryn Mawr, Elon Musk, Filibuster, Harry Reid, Hyperloop Permalink 0

Hand-picked and farm-fresh–
⇒Linked articles in bold purple

◆ The Future of Transportation: The Washington Post has a story saying that Elon Musk’s super-fast hyperloop is not so far away as a practical option. The article offers no real evidence of the technological breakthroughs needed to achieve those 750 mph speeds. But it makes another very interesting point:

By 2020, self-driving cars will have progressed so far that they can drive safely at speeds as fast as 200 mph in their own partitioned lanes on highways. In these circumstances, the commute to Los Angeles from San Francisco would take only an hour and a half — without the need to catch a connection to a [hyperloop] supersonic pod. –Washington Post

◆ Trump and the Composition of Federal Courts. The focus, understandably, has been on how Trump will handle the Supreme Court vacancy. But, notes the WaPo, the incoming president has over 100 vacancies to fill on federal district and appellate courts, which will allow him to have a powerful impact on the judiciary very quickly.

⇒ Comment: Yet another devastating legacy Harry Reid left for his Democratic Party. Until Reid blew up the longstanding Senate rules, these nominations could have been filibustered, which would have forced the majority party to look for nominees with some bipartisan support. No more. Reid pushed through the “nuclear option,” so his thin majority could push through Obama’s nominees. Now, with the Republicans in charge, they will use their majority to fill all those vacations but one of those vacancies with conservative jurists. The one remaining exception is the Supreme Court, which still requires a supermajority vote.

◆ Bullies at chic liberal arts college Student at prestigious liberal-arts college called “white supremacist,” “fascist,” and more by cyberbullies at her school. Her crime was asking for a shared ride to a Trump event. She was distraught enough by the harassment to call the suicide hotline before dropping out of Bryn Mawr college, a all-women’s school with strong Quaker roots. (Philly.com)

⇒ Comment: If you believe the school will do anything to the bullies, then you still believe in the tooth fairy.

◆ Christmas in North Korea: Kim Jong Un orders country to celebrate his grandmother on the holiday. (Fox News)

⇒ Comment: If you leave out any cookies, Kim will come down the chimney himself and eat them. Then kill you for having cookies.

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ZipDialog’s Roundup of News Beyond the Front Page–Special: NOTHING about the election . . Tuesday, Nov. 8

By Charles Lipson
Tuesday, November 8, 2016 0 Chicago and Illinois, China, Economy, Immigration, International Political Economy, International relations, Islamic terrorism, North Korea, Self-driving vehicles, South Korea, Technology, US foreign policy, ZipDialog Roundup of News Beyond the Front Page California, Missile Defense, Public transporation, US Navy Permalink 0

Not a peep, not a murmur about the election here.

⇒Linked articles in bold purple

◆ US rushing a missile defense system to South Korea. China is really unhappy about it. (International Business Times)

Comment: There are excellent reasons to extend missile defense to South Korea. If China is as unhappy as they say, then they can put some pressure on their North Korean ally. So far, they have declined to do so.

◆ Headline of the day: “California voters mull sex, drugs and plastic bags” (CNN). These are election propositions and, fortunately, they are separate.

◆ Finland’s self-driving buses show the future of public transportation (NY Times)

Comment: I think that’s right since some 80% of public transit costs are labor. My hunch is that public and private self-driving vehicles will displace a lot of privately-owned cars.

◆ Good US economic news: Number of construction cranes at work in Chicago at 8 year high (Chicago Tribune)

◆ Bad global economic news: China’s October exports fall in new sign of global weakness (US News)

◆ Now, almost 10 million more work for US government than in manufacturing. (CNS News Service)

◆ US Navy’s new Zumwalt-class warships have guns that can shoot 80 miles, precisely. That’s the good news. The bad news is that each shot costs $800,000 so they cannot afford to use them. (Daily Mail)

◆ Fearing a flood of refugees, a town near Munich builds a 12-foot-high wall (higher than the Berlin Wall). (Fox News)

◆ Islamists have infiltrated German Army. Some discovered. More being searched for. (Israel National News)

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Self-driving vehicles

Not a peep, not a murmur about the election here.