As the world awaits the next big product cycle in self-driving cars or artificial intelligence, it will have to be happy with the success of individual companies. The U.S. is back in an “in between” period where individual tech companies have “great stories,” rather than the whole sector, Elevation Partners cofounder Roger McNamee said on CNBC’s “Squawk Alley” on Friday morning.
Category: Computer Science
Self-driving cars are already deciding who to kill
Autonomous vehicles are already making profound choices about whose lives matter, according to experts, so we might want to pay attention. “Every time the car makes a complex maneuver, it is implicitly making trade-off in terms of risks to different parties,” Iyad Rahwan, an MIT cognitive scientist, wrote in an email.
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Staying relevant through constant innovation and disruption is more important in the tech industry than in arguably any other sector. By investing heavily in research and development , these companies are making expensive bets on the future and what technology and trends will lead it — along with their own sales and profits.
Netflix Uses AI to Figure Out How Much to Pay for Content
Netflix has crafted several computer algorithms to determine what shows to produce, what shows and films to license, what content to show to each user, and apparently how much to pay for each piece of content. In a recent Business Insider article detailing how documentarian Craig Atkinson ended up not selling his film to Netflix, he revealed an interesting detail about Netflix’s negotiation tactics.
Veteran VC talks about which investments he’ll jump on in 2017, which …
Scott Kupor, Andreessen Horowitz managing partner, is photographed outside of his office in Menlo Park, Calif., on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016. After a tough slog through 2016, tech startups have reason to be optimistic heading into the new year, says Scott Kupor, managing partner of Andreessen Horowitz.
The Most Expensive Smart Home Device of 2016
Echo to connected and automated toilet seats. While most of these smart home devices range from under $100 to a few hundred, the Samsung “Family Hub” refrigerator, clocking in at a cool $5,999 on the high-end model, takes the prize as the most expensive smart home device of the year.
Tesla Gets a Jump on Google, Uber, Ford in Race to Autonomous
There was, in hindsight, a clear element of risk to Tesla Motors Inc.’s decision to install Autopilot hardware in every car coming off the production line since October 2014. It paid a price, with federal regulators probing the deadly crash of a Model S while in driver-assist mode and critics slamming Tesla for rolling the technology out too soon.
BlackBerry Opens Site to Shore Up Self-Driving Car Research
BlackBerry Ltd. and Canada are opening a research center for self-driving cars that raises the possibility of government backing for the former smartphone maker’s automotive software unit. Chief Executive Officer John Chen and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the center at QNX’s headquarters near Ottawa, Ontario, where it will be based.
Better Buy: NVIDIA Corporation vs. Broadcom
As we hurdle toward the finish line, 2016 will go down as a uniquely active year in the semiconductor market. Spurred on by the onset of several generational tech trends — the Internet of Things , artificial intelligence, self-driving cars, and the like — major semiconductor companies have gone on a buying spree to prepare them to cash-in on this growth.