Self-driving taxi goes crazy

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SELF-DRIVING WAYMO TAXI TRAPS MAN IN PARKING LOT 🚗

Q: Why does it cost so much to put air in a tire?

A: Inflation. 🛞

What happened? A man named Mike Johns was trying to get a ride to the airport, and his self-driving Waymo taxi circled endlessly in a Scottsdale, Arizona parking lot, making him sick and almost causing him to miss his flight.

Want the details? Johns, who posted a now-viral video of the incident (above), said he felt trapped as the car spun in circles and customer service attempted to stop it. Johns described the situation as disorienting and expressed concerns over the lack of empathy from the representative, unsure whether he was speaking to a human or an AI. He described his thoughts: “It’s circling around a parking lot. I’ve got my seatbelt on, I can’t get out of the car. Has this been hacked? What’s going on?” After several minutes, a Waymo representative was able to fix the “looping problem” and the car finally resumed its route. Johns arrived just in time to catch his flight. This incident highlights the continued learning curve of autonomous vehicles.

What did Waymo say? Waymo confirmed the glitch lasted about five minutes and stated that a software update has resolved the issue. They also noted that Johns wasn’t charged for the ride and said they attempted to contact him to apologize. Despite working in tech, Johns says he won’t use Waymo again until it feels more human-focused.

ALTMAN OPENS THE YEAR WITH CRYPTIC POST 👀

“Whatever we burn, $500 million a year or $5 billion or $50 billion a year, I don’t care—I genuinely don’t … we are making AGI.” (Sam Altman) 🤖

What happened? OpenAI founder and CEO Sam Altman sparked debate about the future of AI. Sharing a six-word story on the social media platform X, Altman wrote: “near the singularity; unclear which side.”

Want some background? The term “singularity” refers to a future moment when AI becomes so advanced that it surpasses human control and could dramatically change life as we know it. Altman later explained that his cryptic phrase could have two meanings. One possibility is the “simulation hypothesis”—the idea that everything we experience is part of a computer simulation. The other is the uncertainty about when AI’s rapid and potentially dangerous growth, or “takeoff,” will happen.

Why is this significant? Altman’s post raises fresh questions about how close we are to creating artificial general intelligence (AGI)—machines as smart as humans. While some see this as exciting, others worry about how it could impact humanity if the potential drawbacks are not taken into account. Altman will stop at nothing until he reaches AGI, but is he counting the cost or dismissing potential consequences as a joke?

SAMSUNG’S NEW FRIDGE CAN ORDER GROCERIES 🍌

Can my fridge pay for the groceries too? 😀

What’s up? At a CES 2025 First Look event, Samsung unveiled an AI fridge that can order groceries and a new AI-powered TV.

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