Google's futuristic self-driving cars are hitting California roads this summer (GOOG) | ||
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Google's self-driving car prototype is coming to public roads for the first time this summer, the company announced today. The vehicles are designed to be entirely self-driving, and shouldn't be confused with Google's broader self-driving research, which adapts existing, manually-driven vehicles (such as the Lexus RX450h SUV). These Lexuses have been driving on public roads for some time — and caused a minor controversy earlier this week, when it emerged that they had been getting in accidents. Google employee Chris Urmson, who heads up the project, subsequently defended the vehicles' track record, saying that all 11 accidents had been minor, and that "not once was the self-driving car the cause of the accident." Using the same software that powers the Lexuses already on the road, Google's prototypes have been given the green light by regulators to begin tests on public roads in California this summer. As a safety precaution, they will be fitted with a (removable) steering wheel and accelerator and brake pedals, and will have their speed capped at 25 miles per hour. In a blog post announcing the news, Urmson writes that the project's ultimate goal is "a vehicle that could shoulder the entire burden of driving. Vehicles that can take anyone from A to B at the push of a button could transform mobility for millions of people, whether by reducing the 94 percent of accidents caused by human error, reclaiming the billions of hours wasted in traffic, or bringing everyday destinations and new opportunities within reach of those who might otherwise be excluded by their inability to drive a car." Here's a video Google made announcing the news:Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: NASA’s new robotic car makes Google's look lame  | ||
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There's a new Tumblr that will strike fear into conference organizers everywhere | ||
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You've probably been to a conference before and wondered: Hang on, where are all the women? Business Insider attended an all-day conference the other day, and it took until 2.30pm for a woman to appear on stage. And even then, she was only participating in a panel (alongside three men.) Now there's a place to document (and shame) such events. Step up the "Congrats, you have an all male panel!" Tumblr. We first spotted it on Mashable. The Tumblr puts a spotlight on an all male panel that tells women how to get ahead in tech, an all male VC panel at BoxDev in San Francisco, and all male panels at colleges including Harvard and MIT, among others. Each panel photo comes with a David Hasselhoff "Hoffsome" stamp of approval. Because, why not? We don't know who is behind the Tumblr, but have tried to make contact. We will update this article once a response has been received. In the meantime, marvel at the all-male panels:
SEE ALSO: The ad tech sector looks an awful lot like a bubble that just popped Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Here's the brand new Game of Thrones trailer that premiered at Apple's conference  | ||
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The 10 things in advertising you need to know today (FB, GOOG, NFLX, SZMK) | ||
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Good morning! Here's everything you need to know in the world of advertising today. 1. There's a new Tumblr that will strike fear into conference organizers. "Congrats, you have an all male panel!" is its name. 2. Netflix is in talks to enter China's booming online video market. The company is reportedly in talks with Jack Ma-backed Wasu Media. 3. Facebook is blowing past Google in this critical area. Morgan Stanley says Facebook is on track to start winning more new mobile ad dollars than Google. 4. Coca-Cola wants to fund the next billion dollar startup. Coke's "Founders" platform aims to grow startups into self-sustaining businesses of their own. 5. Netflix is not completely ruling out broadcasting lives ports. "Never say never," said Netflix content boss Ted Sandaros. 6. "Pretty soon" we will have implants instead of smartwatches. That's according to one of Unilever's top marketing executives, Marc Mathieu. 7. Following Google's lead, Microsoft is updating Bing's search algorithm to favor websites that are mobile friendly. When Google made this change last month, experts dubbed the move "mobile-geddon" because it would affect so many businesses. Bing's change will likely be less tectonic, however, because any business that plans on changing their website probably already did. 8. Marketing software company Percolate just raised $40 million in a funding round. Now it believes it can take on Oracle and Salesforce. 9. Dish has a big plan to take on AT&T, Verizon, and Google. It wants to become a wireless carrier. 10. Ad management platform Sizmek has acquired mobile demand-side platform StrikeAd for $11.7 million, AdExchanger reports. "They will fill the void from a media acquisition perspective for us," Sizmek's general manager of global product sales Mike Caprio said. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: HBO just released a new trailer for 'True Detective' season 2 and it looks phenomenal  | ||
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There's a new Tumblr that will strike fear into conference organizers everywhere | ||
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You've probably been to a conference before and wondered: Hang on, where are all the women? Business Insider attended an all-day conference the other day, and it took until 2.30pm for a woman to appear on stage. And even then, she was only participating in a panel (alongside three men.) Now there's a place to document (and shame) such events. Step up the "Congrats, you have an all male panel!" Tumblr. We first spotted it on Mashable. The Tumblr puts a spotlight on an all male panel that tells women how to get ahead in tech, an all male VC panel at BoxDev in San Francisco, and all male panels at colleges including Harvard and MIT, among others. Each panel photo comes with a David Hasselhoff "Hoffsome" stamp of approval. Because, why not? We don't know who is behind the Tumblr, but have tried to make contact. We will update this article once a response has been received. In the meantime, marvel at the all-male panels:
SEE ALSO: The ad tech sector looks an awful lot like a bubble that just popped Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Here's the brand new Game of Thrones trailer that premiered at Apple's conference  | ||
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The UK government's plan to scrap the Human Rights Act is falling apart | ||
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The new Conservative government's plan to scrap the Human Rights Act and replace it with a British Bill of Rights looks set to fall at the first hurdle after Tory backbenchers voiced their opposition. On Thursday David Davis became the latest Conservative MP to express doubts over the plan telling his local paper, the Hull Daily Mail, that pulling out of the Act could for Britain "into conflict with the European court". He said: "I'm afraid we will come into conflict with the European court and I don't want us to leave it. "If we leave, it's an excuse for everyone else to leave. So I think that could be quite an interesting argument, come the day. "I think it is more likely there will be an argument over that than over Europe." The Human Rights Act enshrines fundamental rights into law including the right to life; freedom from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment; the right to a fair trial; freedom of expression; protection from discrimination; the right to an education; and the right to participate in free elections. However, what the UK government objects to is that it also makes UK court rulings subject to appeals to the European Court of Human Rights and requires that British judges take judgements from the Strasbourg Court into account before making their own. One prominent example of where the UK government has had a run-in with the European court was over the issue of the right of prisoners to vote. In February the ECHR ruled against the UK's ban on giving convicted prisoners the vote for the fourth time, arguing that it amounted to a breach of Article 3 of the convention that asserts the right of people to a free election. The UK government has long stymied these attempts as it claims that the matter is for the UK to decide on, and there is little public desire to change the existing law. Davis, a leading eurosceptic voice in the party who stood against Prime Minister David Cameron in the 2005 Conservative leadership election, joins other prominent Tories including former justice secretary Ken Clarke and former attorney general Dominic Grieve in opposition to a unilateral withdrawal. The threat of a backbench rebellion with the Tory majority in the Commons a slender 12 votes and fervent opposition to the bill from most other parties will make the task of newly installed justice secretary Michael Gove a tough one. Indeed, an attempt to pass the legislation could be a key test of the stability of the government following one of the most rebellious parliaments of the last century between 2010-2015. Both Clarke and Grieve have warned that attempts to scrap the Act could leave the UK facing a constitutional crisis as it could violate the terms of the 1998 Good Friday agreement with Northern Ireland and antagonise the Scottish parliament, from which it may have to seek permission to change the law. That is, it could send the UK into a constitutional crisis. After stepping down from the Cabinet last year, Clarke maintained that it would be "unthinkable we should leave the European Convention on Human Rights" noting that the convention was drafted by British lawyers and reflects British values. The British bill of rights would remove the obligation for British courts to "take into account" rulings from the Strasbourg Court, although in practice the two might not depart much from one another. However, it would allow judges to rule that ECHR judges were incompatible with the Bill of Rights allowing them to ignore rules from Strasbourg on a more frequent basis than they can currently. As far as the government is concerned a British Bill of Rights could settle this issue, and others like it, for good. It remains to be seen if even a majority of the House of Commons agrees. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: This addiction specialist makes a compelling case for the legalization of marijuana  | ||
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