Robotics

General Motors recalled 950 of its Cruise robotaxis on Wednesday after a pedestrian was dragged under the vehicle in San Francisco last month.

Things just keep getting worse for Cruise, the troubled robotaxi company that once dreamed of being a leader in the autonomous driving industry.

Fantasies of immortality and extended life preservation are likely as old as humanity itself, but new advances in robotics and advanced artificial intelligence models are inching those transhumanist tales closer to reality at a rapid pace.

• Academic researchers at the University of Chicago are helping artists fight back against AI algorithms that would ingest and monetize their works.

GM-owned Cruise suspended its driverless taxis, the company said in a post on X, formerly called Twitter.

Uber’s partnership with Waymo, a driverless taxi service, began Wednesday to provide autonomous ride options for customers in Phoenix. Riders who book an UberX, Uber Green, Uber Comfort, or Uber Comfort Electric could be paired with an autonomous Waymo vehicle.

The California DMV suspended GM-owned Cruise driverless taxis from roadways on Tuesday.

General Motors’ autonomous vehicle company Cruise can’t shake the safety scrutiny over its driverless robotaxis. Now the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is digging into whether or not these AVs are safe for the pedestrians being forced to live with them.