Toyota followed in Uber’s footsteps Tuesday, pausing tests of its driverless car system “Chauffeur”.
The decision came even after authorities said Uber was “likely not at fault” for one of its autonomous vehicles striking and killing a pedestrian in Tempe, Ariz., on Sunday. Still, it’s a move one advocacy group exec likely agrees with.
“Is getting them out faster the best idea, or is getting them out right the best idea?” Center for Auto Safety executive director Jason Levine told Cheddar before the Toyota news broke.
Police investigating the Uber incident claim the car, in self-driving mode with a human behind the wheel, was travelling at 38 mph and made no attempt to brake when a woman walked onto the street.
But the pedestrian “came from the shadows right into the roadway,” according to Tempe’s Police Chief, making the accident difficult to avoid in any case.
It was the first known fatality caused by a self-driving car, prompting Uber to halt its own pilot programs and raising questions about the future of the nascent technology, with many calling for a slowdown in development.
“There should be some step between the computer lab, the completely controlled test track, and releasing them into the communities,” said Levine.
The pace of development in this space is moving at a speed that makes it hard to build regulations and safety procedures, he added.
“There, right now, are no regulations before putting these things on the road...there’s no pre-investigation or examination of whether the technology meets the same standards as a non-self-driving vehicle.”
Autonomous cars have been seen as the futuristic antidote to the tens of thousands of deaths caused by traffic accident deaths every year in the U.S. So far the technology’s track record suggests the error levels are far lower than in traditional autos.
The National Transportation Safety Board is currently investigating the Uber incident.
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to block states from regulating artificial intelligence. He argues that heavy regulations could stifle the industry, especially given competition from China. Trump says the U.S. needs a unified approach to AI regulation to avoid complications from state-by-state rules. The order directs the administration to draw up a list of problematic regulations for the Attorney General to challenge. States with laws could lose access to broadband funding, according to the text of the order. Some states have already passed AI laws focusing on transparency and limiting data collection.
Waymo's self-driving taxis have been in the spotlight for both negative and positive reasons. This week, the automated ride-hailing taxis went viral after a San Francisco woman gave birth inside a Waymo taxi while on her way to the hospital. A Waymo spokesperson on Wednesday confirmed the unusual delivery. It said the company's rider support team detected unusual activity inside the vehicle and alerted 911. The taxi arrived safely at the hospital before emergency services. Waymo's popularity is growing despite heightened scrutiny following an illegal U-turn and the death of a San Francisco cat. The company, owned by Alphabet, says it is proud to serve riders of all ages.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
The end of 2025 is almost upon us. And it’s time to unpack Spotify Wrapped. On Wednesday, the music streaming giant delivered its annual recap — giving its hundreds of millions of users worldwide a look at the top songs, artists, podcasts and other audio they listened to over the past year. Spotify isn’t the only platform to roll out a yearly glimpse of data collected from consumers’ online lives. But since its launch about a decade ago, Wrapped has become one of the most anticipated. And Spotify is billing the 2025 edition to be the biggest yet, with a host of new features it hopes may also address some disappointments users had last year.
