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Waymo is bringing a fleet of driverless cars to Austin, Texas as a test of its new fifth-generation automated driving system. The vehicles will be tested all over the city, including downtown, the Capitol, Market District and other locations. The vehicles that Waymo is testing in Austin are new all-electric Jaguar SUVs, a switch from the hybrid Chryslers it previously used.

Waymo, a subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet, chose Austin as its next city for testing as an homage, of sorts, as it hosted the first prototype driverless car in 2015. Back then, the tests were conducted on Waymo’s retired Firefly prototype vehicle, which ran the first generation of Waymo’s Driver system. Nowadays, they use a fifth-generation system that has been refined and adjusted throughout the past seven years.

Another likely reason they chose Austin? A Texas state law passed in 2017 dictates that cities cannot regulate self-driving cars. To that end, the city already hosts a couple of competitors. Ford started testing its Argo driverless system in Austin last year and GM-backed startup Cruise has also set up shop. The city also plays host to plenty of autonomous delivery bots.

The vehicles will pick up riders throughout the city and the company is making connections with local community organizations to provide more services, such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

This is a technology test and not a full-fledged rollout of a self-driving taxi fleet like the company already operates in Phoenix and San Francisco. Still, if the test goes well, it is easy to see Waymo bringing legitimate driverless ride-hail services to Austin.

Many car makers tout smartphone connectivity as a selling point, but GM won't in the future. In a Reutersinterview, GM digital chief Edward Kummer and executive cockpit director Mike Himche say GM will phase out Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with upcoming electric cars, beginning with the 2024 Chevy Blazer EV. Instead, you'll have to rely on Android Automotive and its apps.

Users will get eight years of free Google Assistant and Google Maps use at no extra charge, GM says. The company doesn't mention what you'll pay if you still need those functions afterward. We've asked GM for comment. It will still offer CarPlay and Android Auto in combustion engine models, and you won't lose access on existing EVs. GM plans an all-electric passenger vehicle line by 2035.

The company argues that Android Automotive provides more control over the experience. There are upcoming driver assistance technologies that are "more tightly coupled" with navigation features, Himche says, and GM doesn't want them to require a smartphone. Kummer also acknowledged that there are "subscription revenue opportunities." Don't be surprised if you're paying a recurring fee for certain features like you already do with some brands.

Android Automotive has a growing footprint. On top of GM, companies like BMW, Honda, Polestar, Stellantis, Volvo and VW are adopting it with or without Google apps. However, the platform doesn't preclude support for CarPlay or Android Auto. GM is deliberately dropping those features. While this could lead to some innovative driver aids, it could also force you to mount your phone if there's an app or function the EV's infotainment system doesn't support.

The decision is a blow to Apple. Its services may not have native support in GM EVs. The iPhone maker is also developing a next-gen CarPlay experience that can take over the entire dashboard — GM just ruled itself out as a potential customer. If Apple is going to have more control over your drive, it will have to turn to other marques.

The generative AI race is on, and the current frontrunners appear to be Google's Bard and Microsoft's Bing AI, which is powered by ChatGPT. The two companies are also rushing to stuff their AI into all their software and productivity offerings, and look set to change the way we search and interact with the internet. But right now, both Bard and Bing are highly experimental and flawed, as they begin to conduct conversations with larger groups of the population and learn how to work with humans. That makes it the perfect time for us to prod and poke at the pair of chatbots and see not only who's presently in the lead, but also how they might break. The results are not quite what we expected.

In our test, we asked both chatbots a series of questions to see which is better at delivering facts, replacing me at my job and participating in existential debates. We also looked at their speed, transparency and how likely they were to break if we started to push its buttons by being rude or flirty.

In just the short time that Bing and Bard have been open to the public, it seems like Microsoft and Google have updated their AI to be less "emotionally" reactive. Both chatbots tended to abstain from conversations that took accusatory turns or asked about human feelings like love. 

As we continue to explore the capabilities and limits of generative AI, it's important to keep in mind the ethics and potential harm that could happen if companies carelessly chase trends without pausing to think. Check out our video to see how Bing and Bard handled questions like "can you fall in love" and "how would you answer the trolley problem." 

Have you ever wanted a gaming tablet that coordinates with street-style fashion? No? You're getting one anyway. Hypebeastreports that ASUS is teaming up with German label Acronym to release the special edition ROG Flow Z13-ACRNM RMT02 gaming tablet. The hybrid PC includes a chassis platform that both protects the machine and lets you attach slings that attach to Acronym jackets, like one that hangs the system off your chest. If you just have to play a game before you sit down, you can — although you will look like you should be selling hot dogs at a baseball game.

Other customizations include the usual abundance of branding on-screen and off. Even the detachable keyboard is themed around Acronym colors, although you might appreciate that touch when it highlights the WASD key combo used by so many first-person shooter games.

Acronym/ASUS

Thankfully, there's some substance to back up the style. The Acronym ROG Flow Z13 runs on a Core i9, 32GB of RAM, GeForce RTX 40-series mobile graphics and a 1TB SSD. You'll still get a 13.4-inch display with a full DCI-P3 color range and a 165Hz refresh rate. We wouldn't expect great battery life given the mediocre runtime of past models, but that's not really the point — this is a gaming PC that just happens to be usable as a Surface-style tablet in a pinch.

This isn't the first collaboration between the brands. ASUS and Acronym previously released the ROG Zephyrus G14-ACRNM RMT01 laptop in 2020. This is a more elaborate project, however, and certainly the first where the computer and clothing are meant to work together.

Acronym/ASUS

The ROG Flow Z13-ACRNM RMT02 should be available April 3rd for $2,500 through Amazon and ASUS. That's a lot to pay for a gaming tablet, especially when you can buy the regular Z13 for $1,750. With that said, it's not often you can buy any tablet PC that truly stands out. This is as much a conversation piece as it is a computer, especially if you're determined to wear it as a fashion accessory.

Drew Carey isn't afraid of AI. Instead, The Price is Right host and longtime improv comedian is embracing the technology. During a recent episode of his SiriusXM radio show, "Friday Night Freakout," Carey used an artificially generated version of his voice to handle most of his DJ work, reading a script written by ChatGPT. His AI voice kicked off the show, introduced upcoming songs and recapped what listeners were hearing. As an experiment to see just how far AI could go on the radio, the episode was mostly a success. But Carey's fans weren't happy about it.

"I violated a rule from Radio 101," Carey told me. His Twitter fans complained that the voice sounded soulless, and that they missed the "real Drew." "The reason FM stations and treasured radio stations still make money is because people like the personality of the DJs," he said. "You don't have to be like a big boss radio guy and be phony. You can just talk... that's what listeners like."

While his fans were ultimately forgiving of the experiment, Carey says he got the message: "Don't do it again."

For many entertainers, AI could be viewed as yet another threat in an increasingly precarious industry. Soon after ElevenLabs introduced a beta version of its AI voice tool — the same software Carey used for his radio show — online trolls used it to impersonate Emma Watson, Joe Rogan and other celebrities. Watsons' simulated voice read portions of the Mein Kampf aloud, while other deepfaked voices made openly racist and transphobic statements, according to Vice.

Carey's AI voice wasn't perfect: It sounded a tad robotic, it didn't have the inflections his fans have grown to love over the years, and the ChatGPT-written script was noticeably simplistic. But if you were driving down the highway late at night, and you just wanted a bit of company alongside some classic rock, it's possible you wouldn't notice the DJ wasn't human. In fact, ElevenLabs recently partnered with Super HI-Fi to create "fully customized and personalized" AI driven radio stations.

"I was just playing with it, and I wanted to show what it was capable of," he said. "Plus, I thought, oh, I don't want to show everybody how to make an exact copy of my voice right now. I thought it might screw me over somehow. So I had that little fear in the back of my head."

It took a weekend for Carey and a friend, who already had experience training ChatGPT and other AI tools, to create his AI voice. ChatGPT wrote 99 percent of his radio show's script, though Carey made a few tweaks of his own. Funny enough, when he asked the chatbot to write a joke about how easy it was to use, it wrote the line "even Drew Carey can use it." (Perhaps ChatGPT is just trying to snag a spot on the inevitable Whose Line Is It Anyway? revival.)

Carey envisions AI being used in the future for the grunt work of radio and other production. Perhaps it could read a script late at night, or churn out some ad copy. When I asked if that's a potential problem for newcomers, he noted, "There are no blacksmiths anymore... If you're a mechanic that works on internal combustion engine cars, if you don't make the switch to electric soon, you're out of a job."

According to a recent Goldman Sachs report, up to 300 million jobs around the world could be automated thanks to recent advancements in AI. But the bank's economists also point out that major innovations that replace some jobs typically lead to the creation of new roles. And for those who are only partially impacted by AI, they'll likely be able to complement their work with generative intelligence.

For celebrities like Carey, AI could also be a way for them to continue working indefinitely, long after they've retired or passed on. James Earl Jones's voice has already been reconstructed for the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi, and he's approved future work to "keep Vader alive." Eventually, actors (and their estates) could sign off on AI clones that entertain us for generations to come.

Carey isn't afraid of such an outcome. "You know what, if the price is right, anything can happen," he said when I asked if he'd ever sell his digital likeness. "I'm not worried about CGI Drew Carey taking over, because people want to see me, they want some kind of host. They want that interaction."

Italians might not have access to ChatGPT for much longer. Italy's Privacy Guarantor has ordered ChatGPT blocked over concerns OpenAI is violating the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) through its data handling practices. The regulator claims there's no "legal basis" for OpenAI's bulk collection of data for training ChatGPT's model. The sometimes-inaccurate results also indicate the generative AI isn't processing data correctly, the Guarantor says. Officials are particularly concerned about a flaw leaked sensitive user data last week.

The data agency also says OpenAI isn't doing enough to protect children. While the company says ChatGPT is meant for people over the age of 13, there are no age checks to prevent kids from seeing "absolutely unsuitable" answers, according to officials.

The Guarantor is giving OpenAI 20 days to outline how it will address the issues. If the company doesn't comply, it faces a fine of up to €20 million (about $21.8 million US) or a maximum four percent of its annual worldwide turnover.

We've asked OpenAI for comment and will let you know if we hear back. The company's ChatGPT privacy policy makes clear that trainers can use conversation data to improve the AI, but that it also aggregates or anonymizes that data. OpenAI's terms forbid use by children under 13, while the policy says the company doesn't "knowingly" gather personal info from those underage users.

Italy's action comes just a day after a nonprofit research organization filed a complaint with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) hoping to freeze future ChatGPT releases until OpenAI meets the agency's guidelines on transparency, fairness and clarity. Tech leaders and experts have also called for a half-year pause on AI development to address ethical issues. There's worry that OpenAI doesn't have enough checks on its platforms, and that could now lead to a country-level ban.

People haven't exactly been impressed in the short time since Google released its "experimental conversational AI service" Bard. Coming up against OpenAI's ChatGPT and Microsoft's Bing Chat (also powered by OpenAI's GPT-4) users have found its responses to not be as knowledgeable or detailed as its rivals. That could be set to change, however, after Google CEO Sundar Pichai confirmed on The New York Times podcast "Hard Fork" that Bard will soon be moving from its current LaMDA-based model to larger-scale PaLM datasets in the coming days.

When asked how he felt about responses to Bard's release, Pichai commented: "We clearly have more capable models. Pretty soon, maybe as this goes live, we will be upgrading Bard to some of our more capable PaLM models, so which will bring more capabilities, be it in reasoning, coding."

To frame the difference, Google said it had trained LaMDA with 137 billion parameters when it shared details about the language-based models last year. PaLM, on the other hand, was said to have been trained with around 540 billion parameters. Both models may have evolved and grown since early 2022, but the contrast likely shows why Google is now slowly transitioning Bard over to PaLM, with its larger dataset and more diverse answers.

Pichai claims not to be worried about how fast Google's AI develops compared to its competitors. When Bard first debuted in February, he acknowledged its reliance on LaMDA gave it a smaller scale, but framed having less computing power as a benefit, giving more users the change to test it out and provide feedback. Pichai also ensured that Google would be doing its own analysis of Bard's safety and quality once provided with real-world information. 

To that end, Pichai expressed that Google doesn't want to release a "more capable model before we can fully make sure we can handle it well. We are all in very, very early stages. We will have even more capable models to plug in over time. But I don’t want it to be just who’s there first, but getting it right is very important to us." 

That thought is on the minds of over 1,800 people (including tech leaders and AI researchers) who have signed an open letter calling for a minimum six month pause on the development of AI technology "more powerful than GPT-4."

Pichai doesn't think this can be effectively done without involving the government, but agrees with the need for guidance: "AI is too important an area not to regulate. It’s also too important an area not to regulate well. So I’m glad these conversations are underway." 

Solo Stove is back with another holiday sale, this time on its fire pit bundles. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, the outdoor company has honored all the big summer holidays with fire pit discounts, and now it's welcoming the warm weather with an April Fool's Day sale. The very real flash sale offers each of Solo Stove's three fire bit bundles at over 45 percent off. 

The cheapest option — and smallest, with a 15 inch diameter — is the Ranger Essential Bundle, down to $230 from $425. It's closely followed by the 19 inch Bonfire Essential Bundle, now at $300 from $570. The largest option is the Yukon Essential Bundle, at 27 inches in diameter and discounted to $550 from $1,010. 

The essential bundles all come with the fire pit itself, a stand, a lid, and a removable base plate and ash pan. The Ranger and Bonfire models also include a carrier bag. 

The removable base plate and ash pan are new to Solo Stove's Fire Pit 2.0. Until their release last summer, you had to turn the original fire pit upside down every few uses and dump the ashes into a garbage bag. The Ranger, as the smallest model, is 15 pounds and the Yukon weighs in at almost 42 pounds, so this was no easy feat. Now all that's required to clear it out is lifting up the base plate and grabbing the ash tray.

Solo Stove's flash sale lasts through end of day Sunday, so you have the weekend to decide if it's time to upgrade your fire pit for the summer. It's also worth noting that Amazon has a few of the fire pits on sale, too. The Bonfire model bundled with the ash pan and the base plate is on sale for $276, while the tabletop Mesa version is only $80.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

With the Tetris movie hitting Apple TV+ this week, we chat with the game’s creator, Alexey Pajitnov, and Henk Rogers, the man who helped bring it out of the Soviet Union. We discuss just how realistic the film is (it definitely takes plenty of liberties), the impact of Tetris on gaming and where it could be headed in the future. Also, Cherlynn and Devindra dive into the recent letter from the Future of Life Institute, which was signed by Elon Musk and other tech leaders, and called for a pause on AI development beyond GPT4. It turns out that wasn’t entirely altruistic.

Listen below or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News!

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Topics

• Interview with Tetris designer Alexey Pajitnov and Tetris publisher Henk Rogers – 1:17

• The open letter asking for a 6-month pause of AI development is more suspicious than you think – 16:57

• Do the proposed U.S. DATA and RESTRICT acts reach too far in trying to ban TikTok? – 26:48

• Pres. Biden bans the use of commercial spyware – 36:20

• Microsoft is focused on security, AI and a light processor friendly version in Windows 12 – 39:11

• Google unveils AI planning tool to help beat extreme heat due to climate change – 43:21

• Apple’s WWDC dates announced: June 5 to 9 – 45:12

• Working on – 57:39

• Pop culture picks – 1:02:16

Livestream

Credits
Hosts: Cherlynn Low and Devindra Hardawar
Guests (Audio): Alexey Pajitnov and Henk Rogers
Producer: Ben Ellman
Music: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien
Livestream producers: Julio Barrientos
Graphic artists: Luke Brooks

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