What You Should Know About The Tesla Recall
Tesla is recalling nearly all vehicles sold in the U.S., more than 2 million, to update software and fix a defective system that’s supposed to ensure drivers are paying attention when using Autopilot.
Documents posted Wednesday by U.S. safety regulators say the update will increase warnings and alerts to drivers and even limit the areas where basic versions of Autopilot can operate.
The recall comes after a two-year investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into a series of crashes that happened while the Autopilot partially automated driving system was in use. Some were deadly. Joining to discuss the latest is auto industry reporter Jack Ewing and Philip Koopman, professor at Carnegie Mellon University who's been working on self driving car safety for more than 25 years.
With files from the Associated Press
Are LA County’s Landfills In Crisis?
Two of Los Angeles County’s largest landfills are in rough shape, and residents are feeling the effects. According to the L.A. Times, garbage at the Chiquita Canyon landfill in Castaic has been smoldering for months, causing odors to seep through nearby neighborhoods. The Sunshine Canyon landfill in Sylmar has odor-causing bacteria growth that resulted from heavy rains almost a year ago. CalRecycle, the state department overseeing waste management and recycling outlined 15 steps the Chiquita Canyon Landfill must take to address odors, but the situation is reigniting concerns over waste removal and calls to close the facilities. Today on AirTalk, we discuss the latest with Tony Briscoe, air quality reporter for the LA Times, and Terrence Mann, head of enforcement at the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD). If you have questions or live in a neighborhood near the facilities and have thoughts, call 866-893-5722 or email atcomments@laist.com.
We reached out to both landfills. We did not hear back from the Chiquita Canyon landfill before the broadcast. Republic Services, which operates Sunshine Canyon landfill, provided the following statement:
“We are committed to operating responsibly and with care for the environment as we manage the community’s waste disposal needs. We take aggressive steps every day to mitigate off-site odors at Sunshine Canyon Landfill. Our current challenges are due to extreme weather, and distinct from the issues at Chiquita Canyon. The unprecedented summer rainfall from Hurricane Hilary and seasonal high winds, for example, have impacted our odor mitigation, and we are diligently adapting our processes to accommodate any rapidly changing weather patterns. We understand the community’s concerns and are always working to improve and adapt to the environmental challenges we face. We have been working closely with city, county and air district officials, and have already implemented several procedures to help further mitigate the potential for off-site odors.”
Can Anyone Create Their Own Language And Script? A New Pasadena Exhibition Showcases Invented Language Systems
A new exhibit at the ArtCenter College of Design here in Pasadena is highlighting the importance of writing systems, which are made up of symbols and rules, and the process that goes into creating them. But the exhibit, titled Quasi: Experimental Writing Systems, isn’t showcasing languages that we already know. Instead, its curators have selected artists from a host of disciplines who are in various stages of inventing their own writing scripts, drawing on inspiration from the natural world, mythology, and science fiction. For millennia, writing has been used to preserve culture, record stories and transmit information. For these artists, having well-established writing systems already doesn’t mean we can’t keep playing with languages and evolving it into new shapes and scripts. Joining us today on AirTalk is Lavinia Lascaris, Graphic Designer & Curator of the exhibit Quasi: Experimental Writing Systems, an exhibition currently on display at the HMCT Gallery at ArtCenter College of Design and David Peterson, professional language creator and author of the book “The Art of Language Invention.”
The exhibit is Quasi: Experimental Writing Systems. It’s on display now through April 14th, 2024 at the Hoffmitz Milken Center for Typography Gallery on the ArtCenter College of Design campus.
European Union Passes Legislation On Artificial Intelligence – What It Means For The US
European Union negotiators clinched a deal last Friday on the world’s first comprehensive artificial intelligence rules, paving the way for legal oversight of AI technology that has promised to transform everyday life and spurred warnings of existential dangers to humanity. Negotiators from the European Parliament and the bloc’s 27 member countries overcame big differences on controversial points including generative AI and police use of face recognition surveillance to sign a tentative political agreement for the Artificial Intelligence Act. The result came after marathon closed-door talks. Officials were under the gun to secure a political victory for the flagship legislation. Civil society groups, however, gave it a cool reception as they wait for technical details that will need to be ironed out in the coming weeks. They said the deal didn’t go far enough in protecting people from harm caused by AI systems. The EU took an early lead in the global race to draw up AI guardrails when it unveiled the first draft of its rulebook in 2021. The recent boom in generative AI, however, sent European officials scrambling to update a proposal poised to serve as a blueprint for the world. The European Parliament will still need to vote on the act early next year, but with the deal done that’s a formality. Joining us to discuss the legislation, and how its impact will be felt here in the United States are Javier Espinoza, EU correspondent for the Financial Times and Ryan Calo, professor of law and information scientist at the University of Washington.
With files from the Associated Press.
New Study Found How Nursery Rhymes Could Help Infants’ Language Development
A study published in Nature titled “Emergence of the cortical encoding of phonetic features in the first year of life,” found that infants did grow their language comprehension through hearing nursery rhymes. Within the study, it used 18 different nursery rhymes that were vocal-only, and its study did find a notable improvement for children, with the phonetic structure of language impacting how they’ll eventually pick a language up.
Today on AirTalk, we get into some of the topline news with study co-author and assistant professor of Computer Science at the Trinity College of Dublin Giovanni Di Liberto and Angela Lukowski, Associate Professor of Psychological Science at UCI.
SHHHH, It's A Surprise: The Best (Or Worst) Surprise Party You’ve Ever Thrown
A well-planned and executed surprise party can be a highlight of someone’s year, or even their life. They might not be for everyone, so you want to make sure that the guest of honor actually likes surprises before you go about planning one, they can be a fun way to show someone you care and are thinking about them. Today on AirTalk, we want to hear from you -- what’s the best surprise party you’ve ever thrown for someone? How did you go about planning it while keeping it secret from the person for whom the party was thrown? What challenges did you encounter? How did it all play out in the end? Or maybe you tried to plan one and everything went totally sideways -- we want to hear about that too! Join our live conversation by calling us at 866-893-5722, or you can email us at atcomments@laist.com.
