Car ownership up despite ride sharing
Despite the claims that ride sharing and fractional car rental services would lead to fewer people owning cars, the reverse is the case. Shared ride initiatives from BMW and GM have shuttered, and Uber and Lyft are losing vast amounts of money. Wired
dis-rup-shun: Were the futurist simply wrong, or will it take longer for big shifts in ownership habits to change? The article does suggest that decreases in car ownership occurred earlier this decade as a result of the Great Recession, suggesting that ride sharing is now seen as a replacement to the luxury of car ownership. So, the ride share companies just need a good recession to help them be profitable, and the auto makers will be wishing they were still in the ride share business when car sales plummet.
Robot solves Rubik’s Cube one-handed
OpenAI is a research organization that is developing smarter robots. The organization developed a one-handed robot last year, called Dactyl. This year it taught the robot to solve a Rubik’s Cube using one hand. TheVerge
dis-rup-shun: If you were never able to solve a Rubik’s cube, or never had the patience to learn, then you are reminded that robotics are advancing rapidly and will outperform many of us at many tasks — depressing. However, if you view this amazing video of a boy solving a Rubik’s cube in 4.22 seconds, you are reminded that robotics will never outperform humans when humans are at their best. As stated before, the displacement of robotics will be for ordinary, repetitive tasks and the hope is that these machines will free up mankind for higher productivity pursuits.
Congress calls for in-car drunk driver detection technology
According to the NHTSA drunk driving crashes cost almost $200 billion and killed 10,847 people in 2017. New legislation by two senators, Tom Udall of Utah, and Rick Scott of Florida, call for in-car technology for detecting a drunk driver be installed in every new car. New technology uses infrared to scan blood vessels in a driver’s fingers, or to detect eye movement. CNET
dis-rup-shun: Technologies to increase safety should be a welcome addition and should be fully supported by bipartisan government leaders. The additional costs of technology in the car could be offset by the savings to law enforcement. These in-car technologies could inform you of the location of the Uber driver that your car just hailed as it gives you the disappointing news that you will not be driving tonight.
Big Tech on stage at Democratic debate
Big Tech and anti-competitive practices were a topic at Tuesday’s Democratic party debate. An array of views all agreed that Big Tech needs to be examined more carefully, but not all agreed with Senator Warren’s call to break up all the Big Tech companies. Andrew Yang suggested that returning ownership of personal data to individuals is a way to rein in Big Tech, while Beto suggested companies like Facebook be regulated like publishers, rather than utilities. CNBC
dis-rup-shun: Big Tech will test the resolve of Democrats as the Big Tech founders and employees lean heavily Democratic and will want to shower their favorite candidates with riches. But with the Dems promising to curtail Big Tech power, its an awkward dance. Expect to see the sitting Congress continue to keep the heat on Big Tech through fines and investigations and the calls for a break up to grow quiet after a Democratic candidate has been selected.
