Subj : Personal Waymos, Robot De
To   : All
From : Mike Powell
Date : Mon Apr 28 2025 09:44 am

From TLDR 2025-04-28

 WAYMO MIGHT BE WILLING TO SELL YOU A SELF-DRIVING CAR, SAYS SUNDAR
PICHAI (2 MINUTE READ) [8] 

 Waymo's long-term business plans include the possibility of personal
ownership. The company recently expanded testing to Japan and plans to
introduce robotaxis in Austin this summer. Waymo previously floated
the idea of selling self-driving cars when it made a deal with
Chrysler in 2018 to build self-driving Pacifica minivans. Tesla also
aims to release a personal self-driving car - it announced at an event
last year that the Cybercab will be available by 2026 for $30,000. 

 ROBOT DEXTERITY STILL SEEMS HARD (20 MINUTE READ) [10] 

 Humanoid robots are becoming increasingly capable as more and more
companies invest hundreds of millions of dollars into the technology.
Some are now being tested in the field to see if they can do useful
work. Humanoid robots can now dance, run, and do flips, but while
manipulation capabilities are improving, they still have a long way to
go. While it's possible to automate any specific task, building a
robot that can flexibly perform a variety of actions in a novel or
highly variable environment is much harder. 

 CHONGQING, THE WORLD'S LARGEST CITY - IN PICTURES (4 MINUTE READ) [11]

 Chongqing, China, is as big as Austria. With 34 million inhabitants,
the city is the emblem of the fastest urban revolution on the planet.
It has become a symbol of the Chinese ability to reshape the world.
This article contains a gallery of images from all over the city
showing sights like the Yangtze River, street food stalls, various
shopping centers, and more. 

 TECH WORKERS ARE JUST LIKE THE REST OF US: MISERABLE AT WORK (12
MINUTE READ) [16] 

 Tech positions nowadays are starting to look like regular jobs.
Workers are contending with the constant fear of layoffs, longer
hours, and increasing responsibilities for the same pay. A few years
ago, tech talent was so in demand that some people were being hired to
do virtually nothing. Employees are now doing the work of multiple
laid-off colleagues. Changing jobs used to be a surefire way to secure
a raise, but now, asking for more money can lead to a job offer being
withdrawn. 

Links:
------
[8] https://www.theverge.com/news/656267/waymo-self-driving-car-personal-long-t
erm-business-earnings?utm_source=tldrnewsletter
[10] https://www.construction-physics.com/p/robot-dexterity-still-seems-hard?ut
m_source=tldrnewsletter
[11] https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2025/apr/27/chongqing-the-worlds
-largest-city-in-pictures?utm_source=tldrnewsletter
[16] https://links.tldrnewsletter.com/7dgJyH

 -- https://tldr.tech/tech

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