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Police say that a 71-year-old man was killed after being struck by a Tesla allegedly in Full Self-Driving mode, ABC 7 News reports, in what appears to be yet another casualty of Elon Musk’s self-driving technology.The fatal accident took place early Thursday morning when the elderly pedestrian attempted to cross a stretch of the I-80 highway in Vallejo, according to the California High Patrol.Officers responded to a collision reported around 2:35 AM, finding the man severely injured when they arrived at the scene. He was later pronounced dead. The Tesla driver, a 26-year-old man from San Francisco, stayed at the…

Earlier in October, Finnish authorities ordered Google’s affiliate data center developer Tuike Finland Oy to immediately suspend the illegal cutting of some 1,300 acres of forest. The tech giant was given a week to draft a report explaining its actions, which soon became a flashpoint for Europe’s growing outrage over the data center boom.As the anger grew, reporters descended on the scene — and what they found is a clear-cut example of the AI revolution’s impact on the environment.New reporting by the Guardian shed fresh light on the impacts of Google’s deforestation. After the 1,300 acres of pristine boreal forests…

The reign of tyrannical Airbnb hosts is over.On Wednesday, Airbnb unveiled a new policy update that prevents hosts from demanding their guests do a bunch of cleaning before checking out.Starting on bookings made on or after November 20, hosts won’t be able to make guests do chores that “would typically be performed by a cleaner,” the company said — like stripping beds, washing and putting away dishes, or taking trash off the property.Guests have been begging for these changes for years. You’ve probably heard — or experienced — the horror stories of hosts that impose extensive check out instructions and…

Try to imagine the most dystopian military startup you can think of, and there’s a good chance it already has a billion-dollar valuation in Texas.Palmer Luckey’s Warhound is a perfect case-in-point. Along with cofounder Ben Lamm, the billionaire arms maker has been plugging away at a startup promising to “produce genetically enhanced working dogs” for use on the battlefield.According to the Financial Times, Warhound quietly launched 18 months ago, and has already raised $200 million from major tech investors like Sequoia Capital, giving it a valuation of $1.2 billion. Even the CIA’s venture capital firm In-Q-Tel is reportedly involved, making…

From AI surveillance towers to robot dog patrols, the US-Mexico border has long been a proving ground for high-tech weaponry and security tools. The deployment of new technological horrors only seems to have accelerated under Donald Trump, with a new electromagnetic weapon now rubber-stamped for use along the border wall.According to new reporting from CNN, the Pentagon has given the Department of Homeland Security the go-ahead on testing and developing operational tactics for a “military-grade heat ray” that can blast targets over a half mile away.The weapon, likened to a kind of microwave gun, creates a horrifying burning feeling in…

Surely the robots that’ve been heavily marketed with all kinds of martial arts stunts would never be designed for violent ends, right?We’re less certain than ever. On Wednesday, China’s Unitree released a teaser for its new “bodyguard” robot. Like with its uber-popular G1 model, it demonstrated that the humanoid robot, the H2-X “Kung Fu Legend: Guardian,” could pull off all sorts of physical feats — only this time it’s implied that these violent capabilities aren’t only for show.In a promotional video, the robot performs its own veritable Jackie Chan highlight reel, front-flipping over cars, somersaulting after jumping from a high…

President Donald Trump called Google to rename the Atlantic Ocean — at least according to the not always reliable recollection of Donald Trump.During one of his typical off-script anecdotes while addressing his supporters at a South Carolina rally Wednesday, Trump recalled his attempt to convince the tech titan’s CEO Sundar Pichai to carry out his geographical whim. At the time, renaming the ocean “either Trump or America” was something that Trump said his administration was “seriously” considering.“I called Google Maps,” Trump told the crowd. “I said, ‘Sundar, I’m thinking of the Atlantic Ocean, can you handle it?’”Pichai, whom Trump described…

Last Saturday, a 17,000 mph game of cat-and-mouse appears to have played out in low Earth orbit.According to new images obtained by Axios, the Russian satellite Cosmos 2612 engaged in maneuvers that brought it within less than a mile of the Swedish-made Earth observation satellite Iceye-X36. According to the outlet’s reporting, the Russian craft burned fuel in order to adjust its altitude and speed to match that of the US-operated satellite.In a post on social media, US undersecretary of state Thomas DiNanno blasted the Russian space agency for “exhibiting threatening behavior by intentionally maneuvering dangerously close to a commercial satellite,”…

A man in Sydney, Australia was arrested this week after telling Anthropic’s Claude that he wanted to kill children at a daycare near his home.As the Sydney Morning Herald reported, 29-year-old David Lan Thackray was taken into custody on Sunday after his disturbing interactions with Anthropic’s Claude were flagged by Interpol. He was charged with using a carriage service to harass, menace, or offend, an Australian criminal law.Per the Herald, prosecutors cited documents showing that Thackray told Claude that he wanted to “go down to the local Westfield right now and shoot up the local daycare.” It’s unclear how Interpol gained…

Geoffrey Hinton, one of the godfathers of AI, is prognosticating about our future with trademark gloom.In an interview with The Telegraph, the famed British computer scientist insisted that AI has become conscious, and said that humankind must befriend it — “or else we are toast.” Yes, you read that right: he thinks that today’s AI models are already conscious beings.“AI has just as much subjective experience as we do,” Hinton said in the interview. “A recent paper showed AI changes its behavior when it thinks that it’s being tested, it’s aware it is being tested.”“Now, normally, when you say something’s…