In August 2016, WIRED visited the San Francisco offices of a young startup recently snapped up by a surprising buyer. General Motors acquired three-year-old Cruise for a reported $1 billion in hopes the straitlaced Detroit automaker could coopt the self-driving technology tipped to disrupt the auto industry. Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt—a scrappy Twitch cofounder who … Read more
Things just keep getting worse for Cruise, the troubled robotaxi company that once dreamed of being a leader in the autonomous driving industry. Only a month after a violent collision forced the company to ground all of its fleets nationwide, multiple news outlets have reported that the company’s “self driving” cars are…well…not actually driving themselves, … Read more
Cruise is pausing production of its purpose-built robotaxi, the Origin — the autonomous vehicle company’s latest setback amid suspended operations and increased scrutiny from regulators. Forbes first reported the news, citing audio of Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt’s address at an all hands meeting Monday. TechCrunch has confirmed the news with sources who spoke to us … Read more
Headlines This WeekAcademic researchers at the University of Chicago are helping artists fight back against AI algorithms that would ingest and monetize their works. Researchers have developed a program called “Nightshade” that could “break” AI programs that ingest unauthorized content that has been laced with the software. What is AI “exposure”? That’s the fun new … Read more
Hello, ghouls and goblins, and welcome to this Halloween Weekend edition of Week in Review (WiR), TechCrunch’s weekly tech recap in newsletter form. For our U.S.-based readers (and this reporter), ’tis the time for mid-autumn merrymaking — time-tested traditions like jack-o’-lantern carving, costuming and apple picking. May we all make the most of it. In … Read more
Cruise said Thursday evening it has paused all driverless operations, a decision that comes just two days after the California Department of Motor Vehicles suspended Cruise’s deployment and driverless testing permits effectively ending its robotaxi operations in the state. The action means that driverless operations in Austin and Houston, where the company had started charging … Read more
Cruise says the vehicle then stopped again. Emergency responders arrived soon after, according to TV station NBC Bay Area, and the San Francisco Fire Department said the victim was “extricated from beneath the vehicle using rescue tools.” The department said she was transported to the hospital with multiple traumatic injuries. The human driver of the … Read more
The California Public Utilities Commission has suspended Cruise’s authority to carry and charge passengers for its robotaxi service, following similar action from the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles. The CPUC is also “independently carrying out investigatory activities into recent incidents involving passenger service,” Terrie Prosper, director of news and outreach at the CPUC, told TechCrunch. … Read more
Less than a month after Waymo’s Los Angeles County expansion, labor organizers and an LA lawmaker are calling for new autonomous-vehicle regulations. On Tuesday, the office of LA Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez said he will introduce a motion “urging officials in the state to address public safety concerns around autonomous vehicles and reign in the expansion … Read more
On the busy streets of suburban Berlin, just south of Tempelhofer Feld, a white Kia is skillfully navigating double-parked cars, roadworks, cyclists, and pedestrians. Dan, the driver, strikes up a conversation with his passengers, remarking on the changing traffic lights and the sound of an ambulance screaming past in the other direction. But Dan isn’t … Read more