🤖🚕 Robotaxis: Coming To A City Near You

Image: Argo AI

Lyft customers in Miami will be able to request an autonomous taxi from a Ford and Volkswagen-backed startup called Argo AI by the end of the year, the companies announced yesterday. 

⚙️ How it works... If Lyft customers are within a defined geographic area, they'll be offered the choice to take an autonomous taxi to their destination. It'll still include two safety drivers in the front seats.

• Ford will provide the vehicles, Argo AI will supply the autonomous technology, and Lyft will bring in customers through its ride-hailing network. 

Argo AI's system is Level 4 autonomous, meaning it can operate without the need for a human behind the wheel.

• But until legislation and infrastructure evolves, it can only do so within a limited area (usually an urban environment where top speeds reach an average of 30mph). This is known as geofencing.
• The companies said the initial agreement lays the groundwork for deploying at least 1,000 autonomous vehicles across multiple markets over the next five years.

📸 The big picture... The AV ride-hailing industry has narrowed to roughly half-a-dozen major players, including Argo AI.

• Google subsidiary Waymo has been offering rides in its fully-driverless vehicles in the Phoenix, AZ, area since 2017.
• General Motors subsidiary Cruise, also backed by SoftBank Vision Fund, Microsoft, and Honda, begins production of its fully autonomous Origin shuttles sometime next year.
• Other companies in the industry include Tesla, Motional - a joint venture between Hyundai and auto supplier Aptiv - and Amazon-backed Zoox.

👁️ Looking ahead... Argo AI and Lyft plan to bring the autonomous ride-hailing service to DONUT HQ and Austin, TX, next year.

🎁 DONUT Headline: The English city of Liverpool became just the third location in 43 years to be stripped of its World Heritage status due to recent construction in the city and on its waterfront – much to the dismay of civic leaders.

A map showing Israeli settlements in the West Bank & East Jerusalem as of 2016; Source: Vox

Ben & Jerry's on Monday said it would stop selling its ice cream products in Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem (but continue to provide ice cream in Israel "through a different arrangement").

• The ice cream maker made the decision to not renew its contract in that area because "it is inconsistent with our values for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory."

🍨 The scoop... Ben & Jerry's was purchased by consumer goods conglomerate Unilever in 2000.

• As a condition of the sale, founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield received two provisions that created an independent board focused on the company's social goals and required spending on those social goals to grow faster than overall sales.
• Ben & Jerry's has spoken up for progressive social causes in the past, including Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter, and supported Democratic political candidates.

🗣️ Public response... New Israeli PM Naftali Bennett called the move a "clearly anti-Israel step" that was "morally wrong," saying it would have “serious consequences, legal and otherwise.”

• The State Department declined to comment directly on Ben & Jerry's decision, but said the U.S. "firmly reject[s]" the boycott movement against Israel as it "unfairly singles out" the country.
• Many kosher grocery stores across the country have decided to pull the brand's products from their shelves.
• From the BDS movement: "We welcome Ben & Jerry's decision as a decisive step towards ending the company's complicity in Israel's occupation and violations of Palestinian rights... [the company] is finally bringing its policy on Israel's regime of oppression against Palestinians in line with its progressive positions on Black Lives Matter and other justice struggles."

☔ Rain, Rain, (Don’t) Go Away

Image: Depositphotos.com

According to the UAE’s National Center of Meteorology, the much-needed rain - which is occurring in the form of heavy downpours - was precipitated (pun intended) by cloud seeding operations, in which drones apply electric shocks to clouds.

• When hit with an electrical pulse, water drops merge and stick “like dry hair to a comb.”
• Although there are three different methods of cloud seeding, the electrical pulse tactic is preferred since it does not involve the introduction of chemicals to the atmosphere.

The UAE, which receives an average of just four inches of rain a year, invested $15 million in nine different rain-making projects back in 2017 in response to the country’s sinking water table.

Keep reading.

Image: Improv Everywhere

Most of us have become accustomed to seeing social distance reminders in public areas. So, when a team from Improv Everywhere placed this sign ☝️ in a park in New York City, many people walked by without giving it a second glance.

• Little did they know the fun they were missing.

🎭 Wait, Improv Who?... Improv Everywhere is a comedy collective group that stages “positive pranks” around New York City to delight and surprise passing strangers.

• For their first large-scale event since the pandemic halted operations last year, they partnered with The Museum of The City of New York as a part of their “New York, New Music” series.

Then, the dance party began.

Which of the following sides on a standard six-sided die does not have a dot located directly in the middle?

A) One
B) Four
C) Three
D) Five

(keep scrolling for the answer)

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No link found!

B) Four

The even-numbered sides of a standard six-sided die all do not have a dot located directly in the middle, while all the odd-numbered sides do. Check it out.