ArduinoMania

On the outskirts of London’s Olympic Village, a crowd has formed. All are staring at Bo’s first production e-scooter, the Bo M. Company CEO Oscar Morgan is peppered with questions about range, speed, price and if he’ll give a freebie to a tween whose nickname is Bo. All of this is taking place while I’m trying to photograph the new model, but I can’t blame them for getting in my way. After all, this sublime e-scooter of the future can’t help but turn heads.

Bo was co-founded by Morgan, Harry Wills and Luke Robus – the first two met as engineers for the Williams F1 team. They worked on a number of other brands’ EVs and scooters before striking out on their own to build something better with Robus, a Jaguar Land Rover designer. All three bring an automotive sensibility to the company, and a desire to build a scooter a generation or two beyond the state of the art. Less a toy, (or a niche tool) but a vehicle, engineered so well that e-scooters’ widely known and accepted flaws were polished away.

I first rode the prototype a year ago and was blown away by how much better than every other scooter it was. The team has spent years developing technologies to improve and maintain its balance, and while the motor is powerful it’s not aggressive. And then there are the refinements like the centrally-mounted load hook that ensures you can carry a bag without harming stability. (It pulls double duty as a mounting point, should you need to securely lock your scooter when you’re out and about.) While it lacks active suspension, the deck has 11mm of elastomer foam to act as a shock absorber, evening out the bumps in the road.

Photo by Daniel Cooper / Engadget

The Bo M looks unlike anything else on the market, with a thick, high-strength aluminum body that seamlessly curves into its deck. Removing the ability to fold down the neck means it’s harder to stow and transport, but provides more space to craft a thicker monocoque body. Morgan mentions, several times, that Bo M is more a vehicle you can park outside your home like a car; a secure solar charging dock for your driveway is already in the works.

Compared to the prototype, the new Bo M has a thicker cowl and a taller, longer deck, but not by a lot. Its unique silhouette remains unchanged and it’s only when you look at the prototype and its successor side-by-side that you can spot the few millimeters of added heft. Inside, however, there have been so many internal changes and refinements over the last year that it’s effectively a new machine.

For instance, during an intense period of user testing in Bo’s Bristol base, the team noticed users dropped their scooters off the sidewalk and onto the road. The edge of the curb was banging against the underside of the monocoque, so the whole body was redesigned to be less prone to grind against the concrete and better able to take the stress.

Photo by Daniel Cooper / Engadget

The rest of the spec list has been re-written as well, with more powerful motors now with a peak power of 1,200W and a rated top power of 500W, the legal limit. The Bo M has a top speed of 35 kph, or around 22mph, more than enough for an e-scooter you’re going to be primarily using on your commute. Nestled in the deck is a bigger, 655Wh battery from LG Chem with the promise of 31 miles or so worth of range. Given the innumerable horror stories about hoverboards and scooters catching fire, Morgan spared no expense to avoid the risk. There are bigger wheels, now with 10-inch pneumatic tyres, more refined brakes – including the regenerative e-brake – a better throttle controller and a more refined version of Safesteer.

And as for Safesteer, Morgan and Wills were naturally cagey to go into too much detail about how it worked during my first test ride. But now, with the machine so close to launch, Morgan explained that it uses a series of opposing torsion springs to keep the hardware vertical in spite of what a rider might do. I’ve even inadvertently put this to the test: I hit a fairly massive rock and the scooter’s refusal to tip to the side helped me avoid an accident.

The one downgrade has been the death of the electrically-powered load hook that was shown in plenty of the initial concept videos. Instead, much like recessed door handles, you’ll need to flip the lock out from its position hidden in the cowl by pressing on one end. As much as the power version was cool, the beefy hinge actually helps give you the confidence that this thing won’t be easily separated from the hardware should an enterprising thief try to make off with it.

Photo by Daniel Cooper / Engadget

Bo was meant to launch at the start of 2023, and there are two reasons why it’s taken so much longer to reach users. Part of that was the usual vagaries of product development, but more so, the UK’s failure to implement a proper framework to make private e-scooter use legal. Morgan was reluctant to talk about the issue given the political sensitivities at play, but the issue clearly frustrates the country’s sizable e-scooter industry.

At present, private ownership of an e-scooter is legal, but it’s illegal to ride one on public roads. The only exception are sharing scheme scooters, which were authorized as part of a trial in a number of locations. Consequently, the UK micromobility industry hangs in limbo, issuing pleas to the country’s lame-duck government to ask for some sort of action. If nothing happens before May 2024, then even those trial operators will be required to shut up shop, too.

The extra development time has enabled the team to ensure the unit is as repairable as possible. Morgan didn’t outline specifics, but said plenty of components will be easy enough for a user to fix. It’s likely the battery and drivetrain won’t be part of that, with users instead expected to return their scooter to a trained technician for service. But Morgan outlined a vision in which users would keep hold of their Bo for tens of thousands of miles, with regular services to ensure things remained perfectly operational.

Photo by Daniel Cooper / Engadget

A few weeks after our jaunt around London, Morgan arrived with the Bo M at my home, 110 miles north east in Norwich. We’d been speaking about my usual testing environment for mobility gear, including a hill with a 12-degree incline on one side, and a 22 degree climb on the other. On a particularly damp Thursday morning, we took the Bo M on one of my usual test runs to see if it could cover terrain that plenty of other units have failed on. To my surprise, not only did the Bo M make it up the 22 degree climb, it did so without breaking a sweat despite the fact that I’m actually heavier than the company’s specified maximum rider weight.

I’m rarely prone to evangelizing, but even before all of Bo’s refinements, I was already of the belief that Bo was category-defining. It is, I think, the first e-scooter I could see myself buying and using on a daily basis, because it’s easy and convenient and safe.

The Bo M is the first in a series of Bo scooters that will be released across the next few years, and the company has already started dropping hints about what’s to come. But, for now, the focus is on the Bo M which has entered production from today, with the earliest pre-order customers due to take ownership of their units towards the end of the year. It will then open up to general customer orders in February 2024, with the UK being the first territory available. Not long after that, however, the Bo M will be available to buy in the US, where there has already been a massive spike in interest for the scooter.

From the start, the Bo team was clear that its first products would be sold as high-end products at the top of what people might expect to pay. Brace yourself, then, when you learn that the Bo M will cost £2,249 (around $2,754) and, while I’m often the first to balk at how much stuff costs, that feels pretty reasonable. If you’re currently paying to get to work and back each day, then it’s likely that the Bo will pay itself off in a year or two, not to mention the fact that you’re driving the most advanced e-scooter on the market. And, as I said before, it can’t help but turn heads.

LG has announced its first foldable laptop, making it the newest player in the industry to launch its entry for the growing (but still something of a niche) category. Similar to the ASUS Zenbook 17 Fold and the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold, the LG Gram Fold is a touchscreen device that can be used as a massive tablet or a computer when fully unfolded. Users will get a 17-inch OLED screen with a QXGA+ (2560 x 1920 pixel) resolution when it's used purely as a display, and they can link it to its accompanying Bluetooth keyboard if they want to use it as workstation. The device also supports stylus pens, so it can act like a traditional tablet for projects involving art, architecture and calligraphy.

When it is folded, the top part becomes 12-inch screen, while the bottom could turn into a keyboard for typing. LG says it tested the model and verified that it could withstand 30,000 folds without its display getting damaged. Samsung tests its foldable Galaxy phones' hinges around 200,000 times, but most people likely access their phones a lot more than their computers or tablets within a day.

A 13th generation Intel Core i5 processor powers the LG Gram Fold, which is also equipped with a RAM that the company says is 15 times faster than an LPDDR5 5,200 memory. On the software side, the foldable laptop runs Windows 11 and comes with Sync On Mobile that makes it easy to transfer phone data to the device. The LG Gram Fold is scheduled for release in October, but only in Korea at the moment. It's priced at 4.99 million won ($3,700) — not cheap, but still a lot more affordable than HP's $5,000 Spectre Fold —though the first 200 customers can get it for 3.99 million won ($2,959). Further, only those who purchase the device at launch will get a mouse and a stylus as free gifts from the company, and the model will not ship with those accessories otherwise.

Sennheiser announced a new pair of mid-ranged headphones today that carry over some features from its latest flagship model. The Accentum Wireless offers “a similar sound” to the $380 Momentum 4, along with hybrid active noise cancellation (ANC), 50-hour battery life and a $180 price tag.

The company suggests you’ll hear “breathtaking Sennheiser sound” from Accentum Wireless. They use 37mm dynamic transducers (slightly smaller than the 42mm ones in the Momentum 4) and Bluetooth 5.2 with multipoint connectivity. The headphones support aptX HD, which can output up to a 576 kbps bitrate for those with supported devices. It’s also compatible with AAC (the maximum for iPhone users) and SBC codecs.

The headphones’ battery can last an estimated 50 hours on a single charge, not terribly far from the Momentum 4’s absurd 60 hours. (By comparison, Sony’s latest flagship headphones are only rated for 30 hours.) Sennheiser says the Accentum can quick-charge for up to five extra hours of playtime in only 10 minutes. In addition, the included USB-C cable also enables wired listening mode for environments where Bluetooth doesn’t make sense.

Sennheiser

On the voice side, the Accentum Wireless has two mics with a wind-reduction mode and adjustable sidetone, which lets you control how much you hear your voice during calls. The headphones also pair with the Sennheiser Smart Control app, which gives you a five-band equalizer, user presets, software updates and management of multipoint connections.

Sennheiser claims the Accentum’s battery life is matched by its long-term comfort. “The earcup and headband padding contact points effortlessly conform to the wearer’s shape, with a gentle touch that always feels secure and natural,” the company wrote in a press release. The fold-out cans also appear to borrow design cues from the Momentum 4, which (somewhat controversially) dropped previous Momentum headphones’ iconic / vintage look.

The black version of the Accentum Wireless will begin shipping on October 4, with pre-orders starting tomorrow (September 26). Meanwhile, the white colorway arrives in “late November.” The headphones cost $180 and will be available from select retailers and Sennheiser’s website.

Reports of David Limp's retirement have been greatly exaggerated. The former SVP of Devices and Services announced last week at Amazon's 2023 Devices Event that he would be stepping down from the role he had held for more than a decade. By Monday, however, Limp had reportedly been tapped by Jeff Bezos to take over for current Blue Origin CEO, Bob Smith, who is retiring at the start of December.

MSNBC reports that Smith will stick around until January 2, 2024 to assist with the transition. Bezos sent the following announcement to the Blue Origin's workforce on Monday: 

I’m excited to share that Dave Limp will join Blue starting December 4th as CEO, replacing Bob, who has elected to step aside on January 2. The overlap is purposeful to ensure a smooth transition.

Before I provide some background on Dave, I’d like to take the time to recognize Bob and the significant growth and transformation we’ve experienced during his tenure. Under Bob’s leadership, Blue has grown to several billion dollars in sales orders, with a substantial backlog for our vehicles and engines. Our team has increased from 850 people when Bob joined to more than 10,000 today. We’ve expanded from one office in Kent to building a launch pad at LC-36 and five million square feet of facilities across seven states.

Our mission has grown too – we’ve flown 31 people above the Kármán Line, almost five percent of all the people who have been to space. Flight-qualified BE-4 engines are ready to boost Vulcan into orbit. New Glenn is nearing launch next year, and, with our recent NASA contract, we will land Americans back on the Moon, this time to stay. We have also engaged and inspired millions of children and educators through our Club for the Future efforts. We’ve made tremendous progress in building a road to space for the benefit of Earth, thanks to each of you and Bob’s leadership.

I’ve worked closely with Dave for many years. He is the right leader at the right time for Blue. Dave joins us after almost 14 years at Amazon, where he most recently served as senior vice president of Amazon Devices and Services, leading Kuiper, Kindle, Alexa, Zoox, and many other businesses. Before Amazon, Dave had roles at other high-tech companies, including Palm and Apple. Dave is a proven innovator with a customer-first mindset and extensive experience leading and scaling large, complex organizations. Dave has an outstanding sense of urgency, brings energy to everything, and helps teams move very fast.

Please join me in welcoming Dave and thanking Bob. Through this transition, I know we’ll remain focused on our customer commitments, production schedules, and executing with speed and operational excellence. I look forward to the many exciting and historic milestones ahead of us!

Jeff    

MSNBC obtained Limp's welcome as well:

Team Blue,

It’s been about six years since I joined Blue Origin. During that time, our team, facilities, and sales orders have grown dramatically, and we’ve made significant contributions to the history of spaceflight.

With pride and satisfaction in all that we’ve accomplished, I’m announcing that effective December 4, I will be stepping aside as Chief Executive Officer of Blue Origin. I will remain with Blue until January 2 to ensure a smooth transition with the new CEO.

It has been my privilege to be part of this great team, and I am confident that Blue Origin’s greatest achievements are still ahead of us. We’ve rapidly scaled this company from its prototyping and research roots to a large, prominent space business. We have the right strategy. a supremely talented team, a robust customer base, and some of the most technically ambitious and exciting projects in the entire industry. We also have a team that cares deeply about its mission, legacy, and how we contribute to the next generation and bring everyone into a brighter future.

Jeff and I have been discussing my plan for months, and Jeff will announce Blue’s new CEO in a separate note shortly. I’m very excited about the operational excellence and culture of innovation this new leader will bring to Blue. building on the foundation we’ve created over the past few years.

I’m committed to ensuring this transition is flawless, and everyone should know that Ill always be on Team Blue.

Gradatim Ferociter.

Bob Smith

Amazon has not officially named its successor for Limp, though Microsoft's product chief, Panos Panay — who also just so happened to leave the role he held for two decades last week — has been rumored as a leading choice for that position.

Reddit announced today that it will begin paying top contributors for gold. The platform’s new Contributor Program allows redditors who meet certain requirements to receive real-world money (distributed monthly) for their awarded content. The company is also revamping how post / comment rewards work by eliminating Reddit Coins (and all associated awards) in favor of all gold all the time.

The Contributor Program is open to redditors who are 18+ years old, in an eligible location (only the US at the beginning), have an account “in good standing” and meet karma minimums. Reddit will grant “standard contributor” status (earning 90 cents per gold awarded) to those with at least 10 gold who received between 100 and 4,999 karma in the last 12 months. Beyond that, “top contributors” (earning $1 per gold awarded) will need a minimum of 10 gold and over 5,000 karma from the preceding 12 months. Redditors falling below those thresholds won’t be eligible for real-world payments until they reach the goals.

You can check your eligibility by navigating to the program page via your profile menu. If you can join, the “Get Verified to Start Earning” button will be highlighted and tappable/clickable.

Reddit also made some interface changes to match the new emphasis on gold. Gilded posts and comments will now display a gold upvote icon in place of the standard one. The platform also now lets you award and purchase gold straight from a post: You can now long-press on the upvote icon for a post or comment in the Reddit mobile app (or, eventually, hover the cursor over the symbol on the web) to choose between giving one and 25 gold awards. A single gold will cost users $2, while they could pay up to $49 for 25 of them. The new gold system is available now on mobile and will roll out to web users “later this year.”

Reddit’s API changes from earlier this year make it much more difficult for third parties to track engagement on the platform. However, with anecdotal reports of engagement dropping after the API protests, today’s moves could be viewed as a carrot to lure / retain prolific contributors who will help the platform build engagement — similar to creator programs from X, YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.

Huawei is moving deeper into the electric vehicle business with the help of Chery Autos and now we know when the first production model from their joint venture will arrive. Luxeed is slated to debut its coupe-style S7 in China in late November, according to the South China Morning Post.

Luxeed's blend of Huawei's tech and Chery’s manufacturing know-how could help the S7 to make a splash in an increasingly crowded EV market. There's clearly some confidence in the car too. “It will be superior to Tesla’s Model S in various aspects,” Richard Yu Chengdong, head of Huawei’s car unit, said at an event.

The EV's range, price and tech features weren't disclosed at the event, the South China Morning Post noted. However, it emerged in August that the S7 will be based on state-owned Chery’s E0X platform, which is designed for two-motor, all-wheel-drive EVs.

This isn't exactly Huawei's first foray into EVs. The company collaborated with automaker Seres to create the Aito brand (which Huawei now fully owns) in 2021. Aito's first all-electric model, the M5, arrived last year. Aito will start deliveries of its M9, a luxury electric SUV, in China in December. Huawei has also been supplying other automakers with its Huawei HI intelligent automotive solution that includes a 4D imaging radar and an autonomous driving platform.

Don't expect to see Luxeed's S7 make its way over to the US anytime soon, if ever, though. Huawei is still subject to sanctions in the country.

NASA's pioneering OSIRIS-REx mission has successfully returned from its journey to the asteroid Bennu. The robotic spacecraft briefly set down on the celestial body in a first-of-its-kind attempt (by an American space agency) to collect pristine rock samples, before alighting and heading back to Earth on a three-year roundtrip journey. The samples impacted safely on Sunday in the desert at the DoD’s Utah Test and Training Range and Dugway Proving Grounds.

Even more impressive, the spacecraft performed its Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) maneuver autonomously through the craft’s onboard Natural Feature Tracking (NFT) visual navigation system — another first! Engadget recently sat down with Guidance Navigation and Control Manager at Lockheed Martin Dr. Ryan Olds, who helped develop the NFT system, to discuss how the groundbreaking AI was built and where in the galaxy it might be heading next.

The OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security – Regolith Explorer) is America’s first attempt at retrieving physical samples from a passing asteroid (Japan has already done it twice). Bennu, being roughly 70 million miles from Earth when OSIRIS first intercepted it, presented far more of a challenge in landing than previous, larger targets like the also-not-particularly-easy-to-reach targets of the moon or Mars

“There's so many different factors,” in matching the myriad velocities and trajectories involved in these landing maneuvers, Olds told Engadget. “So many little details. A lot of what we're doing is based on models and, if you have little error sources in your model that aren't being taken into account, then those can lead to big mistakes. So it's really, really important to make sure you’re modeling everything accurately.”

In fact, after OSIRIS-REx rendezvoused with Bennu in 2020, the spacecraft spent more than 500 days circling the asteroid and capturing detailed images of its surface from which the ground control team generated digital terrain models. “It takes a lot of research to make sure you've got all the effects understood,” Olds said. “We did a lot of that with our work on Natural Feature Tracking to make sure we understood the gravity field around the asteroid. Even little things like the spacecraft’s heaters turning on and off — even that produces a very, very tiny propulsive effect because you're radiating heat, and on really small bodies like Bennu, those little things matter.”

Since the asteroid revolved around its axis, the surface transitioning from sunlit side to dark and back again, every four hours, the OSIRIS team had to, “design all of our TAG trajectories so that we were flying over the lit portion of the asteroid,“ Olds said. “We didn't want the spacecraft to ever miss the maneuver and accidentally drift back into the eclipse behind the asteroid.” The NFT system, much like a Tesla, relies primarily on an array of visual spectrum cameras to know where it is in space, with a LiDAR system operating as backup.

LiDAR was initially going to be the primary method of navigating, given the team’s belief during the planning phase that the surface of Bennu resembled a sandy, beach-like environment. “We weren't expecting to have any hazards like big boulders,” Olds said. ”So the navigation system was really only designed to make sure we would land within about a 25-meter area, and LiDAR was the system of choice for that. But quickly once we got to Bennu, we were really surprised by what it looked like, just boulders everywhere, hazards everywhere.”

The team had difficulty spotting any potential landing site with a radius larger than eight meters, which meant that the LiDAR system would not be precise enough for the task. They racked their brains and decided to switch over to using the NFT system, which offered the ability to estimate orbital state in three dimensions. This is helpful in knowing if there’s a boulder in the lander’s descent path. The spacecraft ultimately touched down within just 72cm of its target.

“We did have some ground-based models from radar imagery,” Olds said. “But that really only gave us a very kind of bulk shape — it didn't give us the detail.” OSIRIS’s 17 months of flyovers provided that missing granularity in the form of thousands of high-resolution images. Those images were subsequently transmitted back to Earth where members of the OSIRIS-REx Altimetry Working Group (AltWG) processed, analyzed and reassembled them into a catalog of more than 300 terrain reference maps and trained a 3D shape model of the terrain. The NFT system relied on these assets during its TAG maneuver to adjust its heading and trajectory.

That full maneuver was a four-part process starting at the “safe-home terminator orbit” of Bennu. The spacecraft moved onto the daylight side of the asteroid, to a position about 125m above the surface dubbed Checkpoint. The third maneuver shifted OSIRIS-REx to Matchpoint, 55m above the surface, so that by the time it finished descending and came into contact with the asteroid, it would be traveling at just 10 cm/s. At that point the ship switched from visual cameras (which were less useful due to kicked-up asteroid dust) to using its onboard accelerometer and the delta-v update (DVU) algorithm to accurately estimate its relative position. In its fourth and final maneuver, was the craft — and its approximately eight-oz (250g) cargo — gently backed away from the 4.5 billion-year-old space rock.

Sunday’s touchdown was not the end of the NFT’s spacefaring career. An updated and upgraded version of the navigation system will potentially be aboard the next OSIRIS mission, OSIRIS-APEX. “Next year, we're going to start hitting the whiteboard about what we want this updated system to do. We learned a lot of lessons from the primary mission.”

Olds notes that the asteroid’s small stature made navigation a challenge, “because of all those little tiny forces I was telling you about. That caused a lot of irritation on the ground … so we're definitely wanting to improve the system to be even more autonomous so that future ground crews don't have to be so involved.“ The OSIRIS spacecraft is already en route to its APEX target, the 1,000-foot wide Apophis asteroid, which is scheduled to pass within just 20,000 miles of Earth in 2029. NASA plans to put OSIRIS into orbit around the asteroid to see if doing so affects the body’s orbit, spin rate, and surface features.

Amazon is paywalling more formerly free features on its smart home devices. Several months after it moved some basic Ring alarm system features behind a subscription plan, Amazon is doing something similar for several Alexa Guard functions.

Alexa Guard is a free security feature that came as standard on Echo devices. It listens out for things like alarms and intruders when you aren't at home. However, the company is shutting down Alexa Guard, as The Verge reports.

Some Alexa Guard features will remain available to everyone at no extra cost as part of the core Alexa experience. These include the Home and Away modes (for arming and disarming a Ring Alarm system) and Away Lighting, which turns on smart lights to make it seem like you're en casa.

However, you'll need to pay for the new Emergency Assist service to keep using several features. Amazon is paywalling Alexa Guard's smoke and CO alarm detection functions. You'll also soon have to pony up for a subscription if you want Alexa to keep an ear out for the sound of breaking glass, signifying a possible intruder.

There's at least some good news for Ring Protect Pro members who linked their Ring and Alexa accounts as of September 20. Those folks will get an Alexa Emergency Assist membership at no extra cost until October 31 next year. Guard Plus, which added some extra features to Alexa Guard for a monthly or annual fee, is no longer available for purchase. It was included with a Ring Protect Pro plan.

Alexa Emergency Assist currently costs $6 per month or $59 per year. However, that's listed as an introductory price that will only remain valid for everyone until January 8. After that time, non-Prime subscribers will have to pay extra for Emergency Assist. Much like Guard Plus, Alexa Emergency Assist enables users to call emergency services via the voice assistant on an Echo device.

Meta’s planning on unleashing a swarm of personality-driven AI chatbots to attract young users to its various platforms, as originally reported by The Wall Street Journal. The first of these bots could launch as early as this week, with rumors persisting that one will get announced during Meta’s Connect conference on Wednesday.

It looks like these bots won’t be tied to a particular platform under Meta’s umbrella and should launch on a variety of social media sites such as Instagram, Facebook and Whatsapp. WSJ says that Meta employees have been testing the generative bots for a while. The bots are being released to increase chat engagement, but some may offer productivity tools like coding and the like.

These AI chatbots are stuffed with personality to keep the young (and young at heart) entertained. Specifics remain vague, but WSJ got a look at some internal documents that detail an AI called “Bob the Robot” that’s loosely based on Bender from Futurama. This bot is a self-described “sassmaster general” with the internal documents referring to it as a “sassy robot that taps into the type of farcical humor that is resonating with young people.” As a note, Futurama premiered almost 25 years ago, long before many of those farcical humor-loving young people were even born.

There’s also a bot called “Alvin the Alien” that reportedly pries users for personal information in its quest to understand humans. “Your species holds fascination for me,” an internal report has it saying. “Share your experiences, thoughts and emotions! I hunger for understanding.” One employee noted in the memo that users “might fear this character” as it seems like it’s “purposefully designed to collect personal information.” The company has been famously squeaky-clean regarding privacy violations in the past, so this should cause no concern.

Meta’s been trying to court younger users for a while now, particularly since the meteoric rise of TikTok. The app has overtaken Instagram in recent years and CEO Mark Zuckerberg wants that marketshare back, telling investors during a conference call in 2021 that the company would retool its “teams to make serving young adults their North Star rather than optimizing for the larger number of older people.” So it looks like there won’t be a chatbot that complains about participation trophies or Bud Light or whatever.

WSJ suggests that dozens of these chatbots are on the way, referred to internally as Gen AI Personas. They’ll also pop up in metaverse applications in addition to standard social media services. Reports also indicate that Meta’s prepping a toolset for celebrities to allow them to create their own AI chatbots to interact with fans.

Of course, Meta’s not the first social media company to court youngsters with personality-filled chatbots. Amazon's prepping an Alexa-powered voice chat service for kids. Snap also launched the My AI service back in February and it has been used by over 150 million people since that release. Despite the success, My AI has run into some troubling issues for a product intended for children. For instance, it has chatted about alcohol and sex with users and even randomly started posting photos without consent. We’ll have to wait and see if “Bob the Robot” and his cohorts start behaving badly when they launch.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has blocked a bill that would have required autonomous trucks weighing more than 10,000 pounds (4,536kg) to have human safety drivers on board while operating on public roads. The governor said in a statement that the legislation, which California Senate members passed in a 36-2 vote, was unnecessary. Newsom believes existing laws are sufficient to ensure there's an "appropriate regulatory framework."

The governor noted that, under a 2012 law, the state's Department of Motor Vehicles collaborates with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, California Highway Patrol and other relevant bodies "to determine the regulations necessary for the safe operation of autonomous vehicles on public roads.” Newsom added that the DMV is committed to making sure rules keep up with the pace of evolving autonomous vehicle tech. "DMV continuously monitors the testing and operations of autonomous vehicles on California roads and has the authority to suspend or revoke permits as necessary to protect the public's safety," his veto message reads.

Newsom, who has a reputation for being friendly to the tech industry, reportedly faced pressure within his administration not to sign the bill. The state's Office of Business and Economic Development warned that the proposed law would lead to companies that are working on self-driving tech to move out of California.

On the other hand, as the Associated Press notes, California Labor Federation head Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher estimates that not requiring human drivers in trucks would cost around 250,000 jobs. “We will not sit by as bureaucrats side with tech companies, trading our safety and jobs for increased corporate profits," Fletcher, who called autonomous trucks dangerous, said in a statement. "We will continue to fight to make sure that robots do not replace human drivers and that technology is not used to destroy good jobs.”