Electric transport startup Rivian has been sued by one of its former employees. Per The Wall Street Journal, Laura Schwab, an executive who was a vice president of sales and marketing at the automaker until last month, filed a gender discrimination complaint with the California Superior Court in Orange County on Thursday. In the lawsuit, Schwab alleges she was fired by Rivian after she complained of a “toxic ‘bro culture’” that saw other executives exclude her from meetings and ignore her advice.

“The culture at Rivian was actually the worst I’ve experienced in over 20 years in the automotive industry,” Schwab told The Journal. A veteran of the automotive industry, Schwab held executive posts at Aston Martin Lagonda and Jaguar Land Rover before she joined Rivian in November 2020.

According to the outlet, Schwab tried to push the company to address numerous concerns while she was there. In one instance, she allegedly tried to tell the other executives on Rivian’s leadership team that the company had underpriced its vehicles. In yet another situation, she tried to raise concerns about the quality of the automaker’s manufacturing process. In the former case, the company allegedly initially dismissed her advice only to later follow through on it after a male executive raised the same issue.

The suit comes ahead of Rivian’s planned IPO next week where the company will seek to raise as much as $9.6 billion in additional investment. It also recently started producing R1T trucks for customers. More broadly, the suit comes as several other companies in the tech space face scrutiny over their gender equality practices. Most notably, there’s Activision Blizzard, which was sued by California’s fair employment regulator in July for fostering what it described as a sexist “frat boy” workplace culture. The fallout from that lawsuit has been far-reaching. Following months of pressure from employees, the company ended its policy of forced arbitration in cases involving sexual harassment and discrimination and put in place a zero-tolerance stance toward harassment.

Citing the quiet period ahead of its IPO, Rivian declined to comment on the complaint.  

Hyundai has shared a handful of teaser images of the Seven, a new all-electric SUV the automaker plans to debut at the AutoMobility LA show later this month. The company notes the concept “hints at a new SUV model coming to the Ioniq family.”

Hyundai

Concept vehicles rarely make it to production without substantial changes, so treat the images accordingly. We probably won’t see the Seven’s successor come with an array of pixel lights or a lounge-like interior. Of the interior, Hyundai says it’s made from sustainable and eco-friendly materials.

Hyundai

In the US, Hyundai’s EV family includes the recently launched Ioniq 5. The base model of the crossover features a 72.6-kWh battery that allows it to travel up to 300 miles on a single charge. Hyundai will debut the Seven on November 17th at 12:55PM ET. Afterward, it will stay on display at the LA Auto Show until November 28th, giving the public a chance to see the EV in person.

Last year, Alphabet’s DeepMind announced its AlphaFold 2 AI showed it could predict how certain proteins would fold in a way that was competitive with experimental data. The news was met with enthusiasm by the scientific community, but it wasn’t clear at the time what the breakthrough would mean in practical terms. Now we have a better idea with Alphabet announcing the creation of a new subsidiary called Isomorphic Labs.

The company states its goal is to “reimagine” the process of developing new drugs with an AI-first approach. “We believe that the foundational use of cutting edge computational and AI methods can help scientists take their work to the next level, and massively accelerate the drug discovery process,” Demis Hassabis, the founder and CEO of Isomorphic Labs said. Hassabis, who’s also the CEO of DeepMind, will serve as the chief executive of the startup while it builds out and hires additional employees.

Isomorphic Labs isn’t the first or only company to say it plans to streamline drug development with the help of AI. Since 2012, a startup out of the University of Toronto called Atomwise has had a similar vision. They’re both trying to address the problem of skyrocketing drug development costs. A recent 2020 study found that it costs on average $1.3 billion to create a new pharmaceutical. A lot of that has to do with the process itself. As things stand today, researchers physically synthesize each and every promising compound and then test to see if it’s safe for human use. And as they have tried to develop treatments for more complicated diseases, fewer drugs are passing human trials.

For as long as motorcycles have existed, enthusiasts have been upgrading their rides with new components. Taking that idea to the 21st century, the new 2022 SR from Zero Motorcycles allows you to push its capabilities with software updates instead. The motorcycle will ship with the company’s Cypher III+ operating system, which includes the Cypher Store. And if you plan to get the most out of the 2022 SR, you’ll need to spend money at the marketplace. Post-purchase “DLC” is something we’ve seen the automotive industry show increasing interest in recent years.

At first, the Cypher Store will offer a mix of performance and comfort upgrades. It will later expand to sell purchases that enable features like a park mode, heated grips and faster charging. How much you’ll need to pay for those extras will depend on the model you own.

Zero Motorcycles

In the case of the 2022 SR, it comes standard with a 14.4 kWh battery. You can upgrade its capacity to 15.6 kWh and then 17.3 kWh. In 2022, Zero Motorcycles will start selling an optional tank accessory that further increases the amount of power the motorcycle’s ZF 75-10 electric motor can access. With every possible upgrade, battery capacity increases to 20.9 kWh. At that point, Zero claims you can expect approximately 227 miles of range when driving in a city and about 113 miles at a more consistent 70 miles per hour clip. For charging, the 2022 SR features a standard J1772 connection, which even Tesla sells now.

By default, the 2022 SR’s motor outputs 122 lb-ft of torque and 74 horsepower. It can hit a top speed of 104 miles per hour. As you might have guessed, you can pay extra to unlock better performance from the motor. With a $1,795 in-app purchase, power output increases to 113 horsepower, allowing the 2022 SR to go as fast as 124 miles per hour.

The 2022 SR will start at $17,995 when it debuts at dealerships in the first quarter of 2022.

If you use Google Drive frequently, there’s a good chance the included search tool has not been helpful to you at times. Simply typing in what you might think will lead you to the file you’re looking for can instead generate overly broad results that don’t go anywhere. Drawing inspiration from Gmail, Google hopes to fix that problem by introducing a new set of filters below the search bar that allow users to quickly and easily refine any query. As you can see from the GIF the company shared, you can limit results by file type, modification date, location and more.

Google

Google Drive already offers a way to filter files, but the company has hidden that feature behind a sub-menu you access by tapping the right-most icon on the search bar. So it’s safe to say most people probably don’t know it even exists. By contrast, the new “search chips” are impossible to miss. If you want to check them out in their beta form, there’s a sign-up form. When the search chips are ready, they’ll be available to all Workspace users.

Can't wait to play Elden Ring? While the game is still a few months away from release, FromSoftware will broadcast a 15-minute gameplay trailer later today at 10AM ET/7AM PT. You can watch the entire clip on YouTube, Twitch and right here.

For most Souls fans, this will be the best chance to see the highly anticipated RPG in action before its February 25th release date. FromSoftware plans to hold a closed network test to stress test "various technical verifications of online systems," but that will be only open to a small group of lucky players.

Today's trailer is likely to give fans a more in-depth glimpse of Elden Ring's open world. In June, director Hidetaka Miyazaki said there would be six areas linked by a hub (think: Firelink Shrine). Not all of those will be accessible from the start of the game, but each will feature a main dungeon with various smaller forts, caves and catacombs to explore. Players can expect the largest world FromSoftware has created to date.

Elden Ring will be available on PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC. And like you, we can't wait to play it.

Since 2017, Arlo has been one of the few companies to offer a security camera that can work without a WiFi connection. It’s not the only option in the marketplace, but it’s easily the best known. And at $430, it’s also the most expensive. Enter the Go 2. Not only is it more affordable than its predecessor, but it also comes with a handful of upgrades.

First, the price. Arlo plans to sell the Go 2 for $250. As for upgrades, the most notable is a 1080p camera, up from a 720p one on the first model, that features a lens with a 130-degree field of view. It also comes with a built-in spotlight, support for two-way audio and color night vision. As with its predecessor, an internal battery allows you to install the camera without the need for any wires and the weather-proof casing will protect it from the external elements.

Arlo

The Go 2 includes both WiFi and LTE connectivity, and it can use the latter as a backup if your home wireless network suffers an outage. Otherwise, it’s fully capable of running on only an LTE connection. On that note, while each Go 2 camera will come with three months of complimentary access to Arlo Secure, you need the company’s subscription to use the device. If you prefer to store footage locally, the Go 2 comes with a microSD slot. Additionally, if you ever lose the camera or someone decides to steal it, it’s possible to locate it through GPS.

Arlo envisions people using the Go 2 at construction sites and vacation homes. In other words, places where a stable WiFi connection may not be guaranteed. You can buy the Arlo Go 2 starting today through Verizon. It will come to additional carriers in 2022.

Three years after its involvement with the military’s controversial Project Maven program led to employee strife within its walls, Google reportedly hopes to once again work with the Pentagon. According to The New York Times, the company is “aggressively” pursuing the Defense Department’s Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability cloud contract. A Google spokesperson confirmed to Engadget it was pursuing a bid.

Announced at the start of July, the program is a replacement for the military’s cancelled $10 billion Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure initiative. With JEDI, the Pentagon had planned to modernize its IT infrastructure with help from Microsoft. However, the contract stalled after Amazon challenged it in court, in part over allegations former President Donald Trump had interfered with the evaluation process.

Unlike JEDI, JWCC is a multi-vendor contract that will see the military eventually working with more than one company. When the Pentagon announced the program, it said it would collect proposals from both Amazon and Microsoft. At the time, it said they were the two vendors best suited to meet its needs, but noted it was also open to working with other companies. Google did not bid on JEDI in part because of what happened with Project Maven.

The program, with help from Google, saw the military use machine learning to interpret drone footage. When the company confirmed its involvement in Maven, it said its technology was involved in “non-offensive uses only,” and that it was flagging material for “human review.” Outrage within the company quickly grew. Approximately 4,000 employees petitioned Google CEO Sundar Pichai to pull the company out of the project. Some workers even left Google over the episode. In the aftermath of the protest, the company did not renew its contract with the Pentagon.

It also established a set of ethical principles to guide its military AI work. Those guidelines prohibit the company from using machine learning in relation to “weapons or other technologies whose principal purpose or implementation is to cause or directly facilitate injury to people.” When Google established the principles, Pichai reportedly told workers his hope was they would stand “the test of time.”

In spite of those guidelines, Google is pursuing the JWCC contract. According to The Times, the company has “raced” to prepare a proposal to present to Pentagon officials on why it should be involved in the project. The contract is reportedly a priority for the company, with the outlet reporting that Google pulled employees off other assignments to work on its bid. 

“We strongly believe a multi-cloud strategy offers the department the best solution today and in the future,” a spokesperson for the company said. “We are firmly committed to serving our public sector customers, including the DoD, Department of Energy, NIH, and many other government agencies, and we will evaluate any future bid opportunities accordingly."

Google will reportedly find out if it qualifies to make a bid sometime in the next few weeks. The question then becomes if the contract is compatible with its AI guidelines, and what effect that will have on its employees. Those principles leave room for it to work with the military on projects that involve things like cybersecurity, and it already has contracts in place to help the Defense Department with pilot training and Navy ship maintenance. 

If it obtains the contract, Engadget has learned the company anticipates it will help the Defense Department with cloud services like hosting, storage and networking, in addition to artificial intelligence and machine learning. Specifically, the Pentagon could use Google's data analytics capabilities to predict and monitor forces like climate change and the current pandemic. Any custom AI work the job involves will need to be vetted through the company's guidelines. It also expects it will work with the Pentagon on more prosaic issues like security, employee travel and finance. 

First announced at the end of September, the Ring Alarm Pro is now available to order online. In an email to Engadget, Amazon said it began shipping the device to customers this morning. It combines an Eero WiFi 6 with a home security system.

As with most of its security devices, you can buy the system as part of several bundles. That said, if you want the router on its own, it’s $250. Another option is to buy it as part of a $300 eight-piece kit that comes with a keypad and multiple sensors. Keep in mind you’ll need a Ring Protect subscription to take advantage of many of its more features. The Pro tier will set you back $20 a month or $200 per year upfront. It comes with features like cloud video storage, professional monitoring and Alexa Guard Plus.

In October, Microsoft and Adidas partnered to celebrate the Xbox's 20th anniversary with the first-ever pair of official Xbox footwear. For fans of the company's original 2001 console, the Forum Tech sneakers were a treat with their nostalgic green and black colorway. There was just one problem with the shoes: you couldn't buy them. Thankfully, that's not true of their latest collaboration, which will be available to buy in the US and Canada.

Microsoft describes the Xbox 360 Forum Mid as a "love letter to one of the most iconic gaming consoles in gaming history." That means plenty of details Xbox 360 fans will appreciate. Most noticeable is the Xbox button on the outer side of the shoes, but there are other fun touches, including the straps that replicate the console's optical drive. Another nifty inclusion is that each pair comes with four additional pairs of laces in red, yellow, green and blue, so all four controller face button colors are represented. Oh, and expect Easter Eggs. 

Sales of the Xbox 360 Forum Mid shoes will start on November 4th at 10am ET. You can grab them from the Adidas website. If you don't fancy yourself a sneakerhead, Microsoft is releasing other commemorative products to mark the Xbox brand's 20th birthday. On November 15th, the company will come out with a translucent Xbox Series X/S controller and headset.