Andre clocks into his job at the Kamoto Copper Company (KCC) in the Democratic Republic of Congo at 7 in the morning, and he leaves at 6 at night. The work is physically demanding, and while KCC provides Andre with lunch, he says the food quality is poor, and he’s often hungry afterward. He is… Continue reading The EV boom is being fueled by underpaid, underfed cobalt miners
Author: The Verge Online News
Billionaire who flew to orbit with SpaceX buys three new missions to deep space
Jared Isaacman, the billionaire who flew to Earth orbit on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule last year, plans to fly with SpaceX again. Today, Isaacman announced that he’s purchased three additional upcoming flights with SpaceX, a series of missions called “Polaris” that would take him deeper into space on the company’s spacecraft. Isaacman, who made his… Continue reading Billionaire who flew to orbit with SpaceX buys three new missions to deep space
Uber and Lyft are finally starting to look like different companies
Uber and Lyft have been operating on parallel tracks for a long time. Drivers moonlight for both services, customers toggle between the two apps, and despite Lyft’s efforts to position itself as a “woke” alternative to Uber, the two companies essentially operate identical ride-sharing services in the US. Of course, there’s a lot to differentiate… Continue reading Uber and Lyft are finally starting to look like different companies
Ford’s mobile app update hints at new driverless parking features
Ford’s remote vehicle app FordPass was updated a week ago, and Electrek reports that it contains a set of image files hinting at a possible driverless parking assistant feature. The images have filenames beginning with “freeDriveBehind” and “freeDriveForward,” which show stencil drawings of what looks like an overhead view of a Ford F-150 Lighting with… Continue reading Ford’s mobile app update hints at new driverless parking features
Fewer robot cars are driving more miles in California
California, you may have noticed more robot cars on your roads than usual over the past year. That’s because autonomous vehicle testing is booming in the state, with AV companies having driven more than 4 million miles in 2021, according to data released by the California Department of Motor Vehicles. This represents a sharp increase… Continue reading Fewer robot cars are driving more miles in California
Tesla recalling ‘Boombox’ feature that obscures pedestrian warning noise
Tesla announced a recall of about 579,000 vehicles that have the novelty “Boombox” external music software feature (via Bloomberg). The company plans to remedy the issue by removing the Boombox function via an over-the-air software update, the National Highway Traffic Administration said. The recall affects all 2020–2022 Tesla Model S, X, and Y vehicles and… Continue reading Tesla recalling ‘Boombox’ feature that obscures pedestrian warning noise
Mazda head units are getting bricked by a local NPR station in Seattle
Some Mazda drivers in and around Seattle this week discovered they could no longer change the radio station or play anything else in their cars after listening to the local NPR station KUOW (via GeekWire). The issue affected owners of various Mazda vehicles with model years ranging from 2014 to 2017 that were tuned in… Continue reading Mazda head units are getting bricked by a local NPR station in Seattle
Sony’s new AI driver achieves ‘reliably superhuman’ race times in Gran Turismo
AI agents have bested humans at many games, from chess to Go to poker. Now, the machines can claim a new high score on the classic racing video game series Gran Turismo. Sony announced today that its researchers have developed an AI driver named GT Sophy that is “reliably superhuman” — able to beat top… Continue reading Sony’s new AI driver achieves ‘reliably superhuman’ race times in Gran Turismo
EU outlines €43 billion plan to fix Europe’s chip shortage
The European Union has outlined an ambitious new industrial policy that aims to make the bloc a significant player in the global semiconductor industry. The European Chips Act, adopted this week by the EU Commission, bundles together €43 billion ($49 billion) in public and private funding for the sector, with an end-goal of doubling the… Continue reading EU outlines €43 billion plan to fix Europe’s chip shortage
Alfa Romeo’s new SUV comes with an NFT for some reason
The Alfa Romeo Tonale SUV is the “first car on the market” to come with an NFT digital certificate, that the Italian automaker says will increase the car’s residual value. How? Well, that’s not exactly clear, but it involves recording information from the car’s electronic system to the blockchain as proof that a car has… Continue reading Alfa Romeo’s new SUV comes with an NFT for some reason