The Amazon Echo is an artificially intelligent speaker and virtual assistant that can play music, order curries and hail an Uber September 14, 2016 The Amazon Echo is a hands-free speaker that you operate using voice commands. Inside it (well, somewhere in the cloud to be precise) lives Alexa, an artificial intelligence and essentially Amazon’s version of Siri. Alexa’s machine-learning algorithms and rapidly expanding skillset make her smarter as time goes on: so while today she can play music, [...]
Sadiq Khan has vowed to push ahead with a housing plan his critics call “unrealistic” and “needlessly complex” September 14, 2016 Sadiq Khan has defended plans to sell off Transport for London land at reduced rates, claiming the approach “does right by London”, despite claims the plans are “unrealistic” and “needlessly complex”. Khan is set to press ahead with the sale of one patch of land at Kidbrooke in Greenwich, despite warnings his affordable housing requirements [...]
Picks of the day: The three stories to read today September 14, 2016 We’re officially halfway through the working week – to celebrate, we’ve put together the top three stories of the day in bite-sized form, just to make your life that bit easier. Time for a coffee break? Check out our three at three. Uber has finally gone driverless In case you’re totally over the fact that [...]
The Mayor of London has opted to protect privilege not competition September 14, 2016 Sadiq Khan’s crackdown on London’s private hire industry is a sop to a privileged monopoly that distorts competitive markets and fails to defend consumer interests. As private hire services make inroads into London’s black cab monopoly, the case to protect them from decline and enforce consumer safety may sound reasonable. But Khan’s reforms go beyond safety and are [...]
Sharing economy stalwart Zipcar zooms into Belgium with its first free-floating car share service September 14, 2016 US car-sharing network Zipcar zoomed into its seventh European market today and launched its first free-floating service. The free-floating system allows Zipcar members to pick up and drop off one of the company's hired vehicles at any location within a set geographical area, rather than in a specified spot. Its new service is being launched in [...]
Amazon’s virtual home assistant Echo comes to the UK September 14, 2016 Amazon has launched its virtual home assistant Echo in the UK and Germany, its first markets for the device outside the US, which lets users control their home and do tasks online via simple voice commands. The device, priced at £149.99 or £99.99 for Prime members, is powered by Amazon's Alexa, an artificial intelligence voice assistant similar to [...]
Uber launches driverless car pilot in Pittsburgh September 14, 2016 Uber users in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania could be in for a surprise today – their car could turn up with no-one in the driver's seat. The tech firm has made self-driving Ubers available for the first time in the US city – although they will come with a safety driver "to make sure the ride goes [...]
Just Eat delivers new chatbot “coach” to advise customers on takeaways September 14, 2016 Takeaway giant Just Eat will launch a Facebook Messenger chatbot food "coach" as part of an ambitious, tech-focused rebrand in which it is attempting to create "the world's greatest food community". Just Eat's chatbot will be on hand to customers to "bring food discovery to life by engaging with customers to coach and inspire their food choices", the company announced [...]
The Uber vs black cabs row proves one thing – driverless cars are the future September 14, 2016 Having digested Sadiq Khan’s 27-point plan to meddle in the taxi and private hire market, one top Uber official yesterday moaned “so much for being the most pro-business mayor in London’s history”. Uber’s frustration is understandable. Not only is the firm already battling Transport for London over proposed regulatory changes (some of which are just [...]
Uber accuses Sadiq Khan of favouring London’s black cabs September 13, 2016 Uber has accused the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan of discriminating against its drivers and favouring black cabs in the capital with new measures to regulate the industry. In an email sent to customers, Uber claims that thousands of minicab drivers could lose their livelihoods with a knock on effect on waiting times and availability of cars. [...]