Information is Wealth.

Volvo said Monday it will sell tens of thousands of vehicles to Uber Technologies Inc. starting as early as 2019 that will serve as the ride-hailing company's self-driving taxi fleet. The so-called base vehicles will be developed off of  car  architecture currently used on Volvo's 90 series cars and the XC60 midsize SUV. Volvo said in a statement that its engineers have worked closely with Uber to develop the technology on another SUV currently on the market. The autonomous vehicle fleet will number 24,000 vehicles, according to the Wall Street Journal. It's unclear when the vehicles would be put on the road. Financial terms were not disclosed. Jeff Miller, head of auto alliances at San Francisco-based Uber, said in a statement that the agreement puts the company on a "path towards mass produced self-driving vehicles at scale." The Swedish carmaker, acquired by Chinese automaker Geely Holding in 2012, said it also plans to use the base vehicle in the developme...

Roads where artificial intelligence rules In the back of a Waymo self-driving Chrysler Pacifica, on the side of a road inside Castle, a former air force base in central California which was leased in 2012 Google. Behind the traditional driver’s seat, is a black rectangular panel and a series of four uniform buttons. My attention is drawn to the only bright blue button on the far right labeled “start ride.” I, pushing it, and a few seconds later the the minivan pulls out onto the road. The minivan is programmed by Waymo to operate at low speeds, but it’s moving at a pace that is more than a slow movement. We maneuver around cyclists, a couple of pedestrians, and a crestfallen man standing next to a broken-down Hyundai, all of whom are among the cast of actors contracted by Waymo to simulate the real world at its 91-acre test facility. It’s a smooth, yet totally unremarkable ride. Only there’s no one behind the wheel. There’s not even anyone in the passenger seat. And I feel comple...