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On this week’s If Then, Will Oremus and April Glaser talk about the hedge fund that’s gutting the newsrooms of local newspapers across the country—and racking up huge profits. They also discuss the futuristic news out of Google’s annual developer conference, including an A.I. that can hold a conversation and book you a dinner reservation.
Oremus is joined by professor Raj Rajkumar, a self-driving-car expert who serves as co-director of Carnegie Mellon’s autonomous-driving-research lab. They discuss the future of self-driving cars, but also how today’s technology stacks up to human drivers in terms of safety, and what’s behind the recent spate of crashes.
Stories discussed on the show:
- Nieman Lab: “Alden Global Capital Is Making so Much Money Wrecking Local Journalism It Might Not Want to Stop Anytime Soon”
- Denver Post: “That’s Our Blood:” Denver Post Reporters, Staff Members Rally Against Corporate Owner”
- The Verge: “How Tesla and Waymo Are Tackling a Major Problem for Self-Driving Cars: Data”
- Cnet: “Google’s Duplex Could Make Assistant the Most Lifelike A.I. Yet”
- Slate: “Here Is the Flying Taxi Uber Says You’ll Be Able to Hail in Five Years”
- Slate: “Don’t Worry, Elon Musk: This Is Not the Article You Don’t Want Me to Write”
- The Information: “Uber Finds Deadly Accident Likely Caused by Software Set to Ignore Objects on Road”
Don’t Close My Tabs
- The New York Times: “Yes, It’s Bad. Robocalls, and Their Scams, Are Surging.”
- The Atlantic: “I’m Not Black, I’m Kanye”
Podcast production by Max Jacobs.
If Then plugs:
You can get updates about what’s coming up next by following us on Twitter @ifthenpod. You can follow Will @WillOremus and April @Aprilaser. If you have a question or comment, you can email us at ifthen@slate.com.
If Then is presented by Slate and Future Tense, a collaboration among Arizona State University, New America, and Slate. Future Tense explores the ways emerging technologies affect society, policy, and culture. To read more, follow us on Twitter and sign up for our weekly newsletter.
