This week in ideas: Beer that delivers itself, chatbots from beyond, and how to set a very strange world record

Uber’s self-driving beer truck delivered 50,000 cold ones this week. While a human driver was on board (as is the case with all of today’s self-driving vehicles), the rig did just fine without its master. Wired reports that the truck’s tech “works only on the highway, where it doesn’t have to deal with tricky variables like jaywalking pedestrians, four-way stops, or kids on bicycles. It maintains a safe following distance, and changes lanes only when absolutely necessary.”

23andMe has halted its work on a new generation of home genetic tests. “This is a whole new area,” the company’s co-founder tells BuzzFeed. “One of the things people are still figuring out with next-generation sequencing is ‘Exactly what does all that information mean?’” Meanwhile, another gene testing startup is facing tough questions.

No Ubering in the self-driving Tesla! Tesla announced this week that two forthcoming models will come with self-driving software and hardware. Ars Technica reports that “buried in the notes about this new functionality was a warning to future Tesla owners: don’t expect to be able to use your EV driving for Uber, Lyft, or any other ride-sharing service that isn’t owned by Tesla.”  

ap_2_header
Teslas now be equipped with cameras, sensors, and radars (Image via Tesla)

U.S. manufacturing outputs are at an all-time high. Factory jobs aren’t. Automation explains the difference, and why bringing back factory jobs is probably not going to happen.

A chatbot that mimics dead people? One programmer built one after her best friend died. It generates new conversations based off their old text exchanges, and it actually helped her grieve.

How to set the world record for catching a grape with your mouth: First, get a hot-air balloon.

Related
Startup unveils “world’s first” complete AI software engineer
Cognition Labs has unveiled Devin, an AI software engineer that can build websites from scratch, debug code, and more.
9 ways AI is helping tackle climate change
Existing AI systems include tools that predict weather, track icebergs, and identify pollution, all of which can help fight climate change.
Clinical trials can save more lives, and faster, with AI
The type of AI powering ChatGPT could help accelerate drug development by matching patients with clinical trials and vice versa.
Safer skies with self-flying helicopters
Engineers start with an existing helicopter model and add control, sensing, and other software systems to make it autonomous.
Elon Musk sues OpenAI and claims it has achieved AGI
Elon Musk is suing OpenAI, claiming it has breached its agreement to develop artificial general intelligence for the benefit of all humanity.
Up Next
Subscribe to Freethink for more great stories