Los Angeles Times

To the editor: The op-ed makes the meaning of the gig economy very clear: owners and investors make gigamillions and the workers who support them can't make rent. While the owners are crowing the financial benefits to the drivers, some drivers are sleeping and eating in their cars because they have to. And let's not forget that these rideshare companies, which tout the opportunities they are providing to their "non-employees," are the same entities aggressively funding the development of self-driving cars so that they can totally eliminate the nuisance of dealing with the people they now rely on for their success.

The plaintiffs, who include Tinder co-founders Sean Rad, Justin Mateen and Jonathan Badeen, allege that IAC and Match repeatedly falsified financial information to lowball the app's valuation. That prevented bigger payouts to the co-founders and executives, the suit says.

Couples, married or not, tend to have similar ages, educations, levels of attractiveness and a host of other characteristics. This could mean that people try to find partners who "match" their stats. On the other hand, it could mean that people try to find slightly more attractive mates – which results in the same pattern as the most desirable partners pair off, followed by the next most desirable, and so on.

Royal Caribbean International has rolled out a new digital tool that makes an instant video montage of your vacation photographs and sets it to original music based on the content of the images. SoundSeeker uses artificial intelligence technology to scan your uploaded images and make the musical choices.

I suggest that every car registered in California be fitted with a "kill switch" that can be activated by law enforcement. There should be protocols that ensure proper legal protections, such as a warrant issued by a special judge based on the circumstances. The end result would be the same -- the car would slowly die and roll to a stop -- but law enforcement resources would be preserved and public safety would be enhanced.

But when it comes to coffee and amenities, they're at the ready. Here's how it works: After receiving a guest request, a human employee loads items into the robot's compartment, then inputs the guest's room number and hits the robot's "Go" button. The robots have tamper-proof lids to prevent items from being removed before they reach their destination.

Artificial intelligence has not yet confronted a crisis like the showdown between the USSR and the U.S. in Cuba. By and large, AI has provided us with amazingly beneficial tools. "Learning algorithms" on our digital devices extract patterns from data to influence what we buy, watch and read. On a grander scale, AI helps doctors detect and treat diseases, opens new markets and improves productivity for business, and creates data sets and models that address critical issues related to education, energy and the environment.

The product is popular online, currently sitting on the Amazon's Choice list at $35 for a four-bag set, but shoppers also can get the bags at Vons, Safeway and Ralphs grocery stores in California. The company is in talks to offer the bags at Whole Foods and Target stores in California as well, and the Dehmoubeds are finalizing a deal with TV shopping network giant QVC.

"I put him in a hold that I had learned from Bruce Lee. I took him to his knees. Then I duck-walked him back to his door," Ellison told The Times' Carolyn Kellogg in 2013. "I picked up a chair and threw it…. It bounced around the room."

And, since it was introduced earlier this month, it's proved popular at the Mid-City dispensary where it's part of a summer-long pop-up shop focusing on gear for the discerning cannabis user.