GM adds 70,000 miles of roads for its semi-autonomous driving system
General Motors is adding 70,000 miles of roads across the U.S. and Canada to the area where its Cadillac Super Cruise semi-autonomous driving system can run, including some with cross traffic similar to those that have confused Tesla’s Autopilot system.
Currently the GM system can travel on 130,000 miles of limited-access highways that don’t have crossing traffic or intersections. It will expand to 200,000 miles in the fourth quarter of this year.
GM says it has tested the system and it should spot cross traffic and brake. But it also tells drivers they have to pay attention and be ready to act if necessary.
The GM system, now only on the Cadillac CT6 sedan, also has cameras and radar to steer the car and keep a safe distance from objects in its path.
YouTube updates hate speech rules
YouTube updated its hate speech policies Wednesday to prohibit videos with white supremacy and neo-Nazi viewpoints.
The video streaming company says it has already made it more difficult to find and promote such videos, but it’s now removing them outright. YouTube will also prohibit videos that deny certain proven events have taken place, such as the Holocaust.
The changes come as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other online services face mounting concern that the services allow, and in some cases foster , extremism.
YouTube’s new policies will take effect immediately. Specifically, the service is banning videos “alleging that a group is superior in order to justify discrimination, segregation or exclusion.” The ban applies to a range of characteristics, including race, sexual orientation and veteran status.
YouTube, which is owned by Google, said it’s removing thousands of channels that violate the new policies.
Cuba restrictions hit cruise lines
The Trump administration’s new restrictions on travel to Cuba will sting the cruise industry, taking away a new and increasingly popular destination at the start of the critical summer vacation season.
Major cruise lines on Wednesday immediately began dropping stops in Cuba from their itineraries and hastily rerouting ships to other destinations including Mexico.
The changes affect thousands of passengers already on cruises or booked for future trips, according to the Cruise Lines International Association, an industry trade group.
At docks in Florida and aboard ships at sea, frustrated travelers vented over wrecked vacation plans. In New York, sh.
The U.S. Commerce Department announced the new regulations Tuesday to take effect a day later. Cruise lines that carried passengers under a government policy that permitted “people-to-people” travel to Cuba were told they could not continue. The restrictions effectively made it illegal to cruise from the U.S. to Cuba, according to the industry group.
Amazon executive balks at company breakup
An Amazon executive says the online shopping giant isn’t too big and shouldn’t be broken up, but adds that large companies deserve to be examined.
Amazon and other big tech companies are facing scrutiny from government agencies that are looking into their business practices. In addition, Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has called for the breakup of large tech companies like Amazon.
Jeff Wilke, who runs Amazon’s retail business and reports to CEO and founder Jeff Bezos, said Wednesday that large corporations deserve scrutiny. He said Amazon’s job is building the kind of company that passes that scrutiny.
Wilke made the comments during a meeting with reporters at an Amazon conference in Las Vegas focused on artificial intelligence.