Nestled in President Biden’s sprawling 2,702-page Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is a provision that could one day require vehicles sold in the US to come with a feature that detects when someone gets behind the wheel of their car drunk. First spotted by Reuters, the clause orders the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to study the feasibility of various alcohol-detection systems and establish a final set of rules within three years. After that period, automakers would have 24 months to comply with the new regulation.

The provision doesn’t lay out the exact technologies NHTSA should explore other than to say the final product should “passively monitor” a driver to “accurately identify” whether they can drive their car safely. If the agency doesn’t finalize a set of rules within 10 years, it will have to detail the hurdles it encountered in a report to Congress.

An anti-drunk driving technology isn’t the only new safety feature the bill could require automakers to implement in their vehicles. Per Bloomberg, other parts of the legislation would mandate automatic emergency braking, the inclusion of crash avoidance systems in new cars and alerts that would remind drivers to check the back seats of their vehicle after exiting it. That last feature would ideally help prevent parents from leaving their kids in a car on a hot day.

The push to use technology to address drunk driving isn’t surprising. According to a 2020 report from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, cars with built-in alcohol-detection systems could save as many as 9,000 lives in the US every year. Over the past decade, drunk driving played a part in 30 percent of all roadway deaths.

Boeing will have to wait yet again to prove the worth of its Starliner spacecraft. The company and NASA had planned to launch the capsule on Tuesday on top of an Atlas V rocket at 1:20PM ET, but that's not happening anymore. 

"We're standing down from today's #Starliner Orbital Flight Test-2 launch," Boeing said on Twitter. The company attributed the delay to "unexpected valve position indications in the propulsion system" engineers spotted during pre-launch preparations. It's currently unclear if the issue is related to Starliner or the Atlas V rocket that was supposed to carry the vessel to space. Boeing and NASA said they will provide an update on the situation on Wednesday, August 4th.     

“We’re disappointed with today’s outcome and the need to reschedule our Starliner launch,” John Vollmer, vice president and program manager for Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program, said. “Human spaceflight is a complex, precise and unforgiving endeavor, and Boeing and NASA teams will take the time they need to ensure the safety and integrity of the spacecraft and the achievement of our mission objectives.”

After its first test flight went awry, Starliner was supposed to return to space on July 30th. However, NASA delayed the flight after the new Russian ISS Nauka module unexpectedly fired its thrusters, tiling the station outside of its typical orientation.

Several US federal agencies are unprepared to protect the personal information of everyday Americans should they become the target of a cyberattack, according to a new report put together by the Senate Homeland Security Committee. The panel found that out of eight federal bodies, including the departments of State, Transportation and Education, only Homeland Security complied with the Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA), an Obama-era law Congress passed to enable the US government to better respond to online threats.

"All agencies failed to comply with statutory requirements to certify to Congress they have implemented certain key cybersecurity requirements including encryption of sensitive data, least privilege and multi-factor authentication," the report said.

As The Record points out, one of the more glaring oversights the panel found was that the State Department left thousands of employee accounts on its classified and unclassified networks active even after those individuals left the agency. In another particularly worrisome example, the Department of Agriculture had vulnerabilities on its websites that it wasn't aware of. What's more, at least seven of the eight agencies the panel audited were using outdated and unsupported IT systems, leaving them vulnerable to attacks. "It is clear that the data entrusted to these eight agencies remains at risk," the report said.

"From SolarWinds to recent ransomware attacks against critical infrastructure, it's clear that cyberattacks are going to keep coming," Senator Rob Portman, the panel's top Republican, said on Twitter. "It is unacceptable that our own federal agencies are not doing everything possible to safeguard America's data. I am concerned that many of these vulnerabilities have been outstanding for the better part of a decade — the American people deserve better."

Among other recommendations, the report highlights the need for a single agency to oversee federal cybersecurity. To that end, the panel suggests Congress update the Federal Information Security Modernization Act to make the law better reflect current cybersecurity practices and establish the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency as the federal lead for those types of issues. It also recommends amending FISMA to require agencies to notify both CISA and, in some instances, Congress when they become entangled in a major incident.

Didn’t get an invite from Microsoft to the Halo Infinite technical preview? That’s okay. The company has a consolation prize for you. Microsoft and 343 Industries have partnered with Waze to bring the Master Chief and Escharum, his Banished foil in Infinite’s upcoming story campaign, to the navigation app. For a limited time, you can give Waze a Halo makeover.

As part of the experience, you can have the voice of either Master Chief or Escharum provide you with directions. It’s also possible to change your car’s live map icon to either a Warthog or Ghost and update your profile “mood” to feature the visage of the Spartan or alien war chief. Waze didn’t say how long the experience will run, but you can enable it by navigating to the “My Waze” section of the app and selecting the Halo banner.

Following an online pilot in the fall of 2020 with Maricopa County Community College District, Intel is expanding its AI for Workforce Program to include 18 additional schools in 11 states, including California, New Mexico and Michigan. With the expansion, more than 800,000 students can take part in a curriculum designed by the company, at the end of which they can earn a certificate or associate degree in artificial intelligence.

The program includes courses on data collection, computer vision, model training, coding and AI ethics. In addition to designing the curriculum, Intel has provided training and technical advice to the college faculty involved in the program. Dell is also helping with technical and infrastructure expertise.

According to Carlos Contreras, senior director of AI and digital readiness at Intel, the program consists of four parts. In the initial “Awareness” section, a teacher introduces students to some of the “possibilities” and “issues” around AI, with an emphasis on class discussion. The following two parts involve a lot of hands-on learning while students are gradually introduced to the technical skills they need to become proficient in the field. The final part of the program, “Capstone,” sees students asked to create and present projects that use AI to impact society.

For Intel, the company says working with community colleges offers a chance to “democratize AI technology.” Citing data from the American Association of Community Colleges, the company notes they attract people from various backgrounds and walks of life. But as with most programs of this type, it’s also an opportunity for the company to find candidates in a demanding field. It’s no accident then Intel plans to expand the program to include 50 more schools by 2022.

Twitter is partnering with The Associated Press and Reuters to help its curation team put credible information in front of users. Made up of employees who work together to contextualize some of the most popular topics people are discussing on Twitter, the curation team oversees some of the platform’s more visible and sometimes controversial features, including Trends and the Explore tab.

As a Twitter user, the company says you can expect to see it work faster to ensure there’s more and better contextual information to see as people discuss things on the service. As a starting point on that front, the company says Trends will include contextual descriptions and links to reporting from reputable publications more frequently. Additionally, the company says the program will help it proactively identify topics that could become a wellspring of misinformation. “Rather than waiting until something goes viral, Twitter will contextualize developing discourse at pace with or in anticipation of the public conversation,” the company said.

Twitter also expects the partnership will help some features, where context is vitally important, work better. Here, the company points to tools like Birdwatch. Initially, The Associated Press and Reuters will focus on helping the company with English-language content, but it’s worth noting the curation team contextualizes Japanese, Arabic, Spanish and Portuguese content as well.

In trying to support its curation team better, Twitter wants to avoid a repeat of a situation like the one it found itself in last year following the death of Jeffrey Epstein. The social media network was overrun with conspiracy theories about Epstein’s suicide, and the company was seemingly unable to stop hashtags like #ClintonBodyCount from trending. Even when you take blatant disinformation out of the picture, Twitter trends are frequently easy bait for trolling, as was on display when US gymnast Simone Biles withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics. While trolls are likely to continue trying to game the service, enlisting the help of The Associated Press and Reuters could make those efforts less visible

Amazon has quietly introduced a new Smart Soap Dispenser that works with its Alexa voice-activated assistant. Spotted by AFTVnews, the gadget includes a set of 10 LED lights that will count down as you wash your hands for the 20 seconds recommended by the CDC to keep germs and harmful bacteria away.

As an Alexa Gadget, you can also pair the Smart Soap Dispenser with a compatible Echo device to access a supporting Alexa Routine that will play your favorite song or tell you a joke or fun fact while you scrub away. That’s an optional feature and the dispenser itself doesn’t include a microphone or speaker. You also don’t need an Echo device to access its best gimmick. Depending on how far underneath the nozzle you hold your hand, the device will provide you with more or less soap from its 12-ounce reservoir. The closer you place your handle to the nozzle, the less soap it will dispense.

Outside of those features, the Smart Soap Dispenser comes with 802.11n WiFi connectivity like 2009 never came and went, and a micro-USB port (shudder) for when you need to charge the device. Amazon says the internal battery can last about three months on a single charge.

At $54.99, the Amazon Smart Soap Dispenser is significantly more expensive than many of the “dumb” automatic soap dispensers you can buy, including a lot of the ones you’ll find on Amazon’s own marketplace. It also feels like it’s a year late. Many tech companies added hand washing-related features last year, and the latest science suggests the coronavirus rarely spreads on surfaces. All the same, you can pre-order the Amazon Smart Soap Dispenser starting today, with orders expected to ship on August 4th.

Twitter is adding two additional ways for people to log in to their accounts. Starting today, you can use your Google ID to access the service through its web client and mobile app. On iOS, meanwhile, Sign in with Apple now works with the Twitter app, with the company planning to support the service for web logins “soon.” It’s also possible to use both services to create a new Twitter account.

Of the two options, Sign in with Apple is the more intriguing one. Apple introduced it at WWDC 2019 as an alternative to login services from Facebook and Google. The company claims Sign in with Apple prevents tracking, and it allows you to hide your email by generating secondary addresses that then forward any messages from apps and services to your regular inbox.

Either way, Twitter adding support for both Google and Apple IDs should make life a bit easier for new users. But we'll note here one of the usual things about this feature rollout is that Twitter offers its own login service you can use to access some websites. The internet can sometimes be a weird place.

Sony is adding Nier: Automata, Ghostrunner and Undertale to its PlayStation Now service, the company announced on Monday. Subscribers can play all three games starting on August 3rd, with Nier: Automata only available on the service until November 1st, 2021. While none of the titles Sony is adding tomorrow are exactly new or, for that matter, exclusive to PlayStation Now, they’re smart additions to the platform’s library all the same. Nier and Undertale are particularly well-regarded and just niche enough that not everyone has gone out of their way to play them.

As Sony looks for ways to counter Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation Now subscribers can look forward to more high-profile games making their way to the platform. Back in May, the company said it was working on “strengthening” the service by investing in and partnering with external studios.

Peripheral-maker 8BitDo is best known for its retro-inspired wireless controllers, but for its latest release, the company has come out with a pair of officially licensed media remotes for the Xbox Series X, Series S and Xbox One. Spotted by The Verge, the two remotes cost $19.99 and $24.99, with the more expensive model featuring an additional numpad. The "Long Edition" also comes in black instead of white.

Outside of those differences, the two remotes are nearly identical. Both include a dedicated Home button, allowing you to use them to wake your Xbox. You'll also find playback and navigation controls, as well as a set of A, B, X and Y keys for navigating menus. You'll need two AAA batteries to power the remotes, though both come with a complimentary pair included in the box. Another nice touch is that all the buttons feature backlighting.

Of course, 8BitDo isn't the only company that offers a media remote for Microsoft's Xbox consoles. A company called PDP makes one that a lot of Amazon customers seem to like. It's also possible to use an older Xbox One remote with the Series X and Series S. Still, if you're in the market for a media remote, 8BitDo's new models look like they're a compelling option, thanks to their reasonable price and comprehensive key layout. You can pre-order both remotes starting today, with initial orders expected to ship out on September 15th.