Amazon's Zoox offers free robotaxi rides in San Francisco

Robotaxis are gaining traction as Tesla, Waymo, and Zoox announce significant expansion plans in the autonomous vehicle market. These developments signal a shift towards more widespread adoption of self-driving technology, potentially reshaping urban transportation.

Roblox is implementing a new age verification process requiring users to confirm their age via a selfie or identification. This measure aims to address ongoing child safety concerns by restricting chat functionalities to users within the same age group unless they have verified mutual acquaintance. The platform's decision comes amid increasing scrutiny regarding the safety of younger users on its gaming platform.

Writer, a San Francisco-based AI startup, is launching a unified AI agent platform that allows employees to automate complex business workflows without coding. The platform, named Writer Agent, integrates chat-based assistance with autonomous task execution. Starting Tuesday, enterprise customers can use natural language to instruct the AI for tasks such as creating presentations and analyzing financial data, saving these workflows as reusable 'Playbooks' that run automatically.

A video posted by a Reddit user shows a safety driver for Tesla's robotaxi service sleeping while driving in San Francisco. The incident raises concerns about the safety measures in place for autonomous vehicle operations, especially as companies like Tesla push for wider adoption of self-driving technology. The video has sparked discussions on social media regarding the reliability of such systems and the responsibilities of safety drivers.

Zoox has announced the launch of self-driving rides for the public in San Francisco. Initially, riders on the waitlist will be invited to experience these rides for free. This initiative marks a significant step in Zoox's efforts to introduce autonomous vehicle technology to urban transportation.