In some San Francisco neighborhoods, driverless cars have become a common sight. Many of the city’s driverless ghost cars are commercial robotaxis, competing directly with taxis and ride-hailing companies.
I spent the last year covering robotaxis for the San Francisco Examiner and have taken nearly a dozen cruise driverless car rides over the past few months. During my reporting, I was struck by the lack of urgency in the public discourse on robotaxis. It is time for the public and their elected representatives to take a more active role in shaping the future of this new technology. Like it or not, robotaxis are here.
Now comes the hard work of deciding what to do with them. Read the whole story.
The chip-shaping machines that will shape the next act of computing
When we talk about computing these days, we usually talk about software and the engineers who write it. But without the hardware and physical sciences that enabled its creation—disciplines such as optics, materials science, and mechanical engineering—modern computing would have been impossible.
Semiconductor lithography, the manufacturing process responsible for producing computer chips, is at the center of a geopolitical competition to control the future of computing power. And the speed with which new lithography systems and components are developed will shape not only the speed of computing progress, but also the balance of power and profit within the technology industry. Read the whole story.
—Chris Miller
