Uber's former self-driving research lead Anthony Levandowski isn't giving up on his best-known technology just because of his forced exit over alleged trade secret theft. TechCrunch has discovered that Levandowski is involved with Kache.ai, a currently secretive startup devoted to autonomous tech for the "commercial trucking industry," or the same field Levandowski has been working in for years. The firm has taken steps to hide its connections, but they're hard to avoid. California lists the business as operating at a property owned by Levandowski's father and stepmother, while TC's own sources have attached Levandowski to the company. It's not certain when Kache.ai might publicly reveal its plans. The company hasn't responded to requests for comment.

Both Hyundai and the Volkswagen Group announced today that they are partnering with self-driving technology company Aurora Innovation and will be incorporating the firm's autonomous driving systems into their own vehicles. Hyundai will be working the technology into its latest fuel cell vehicle, debuting next week at CES, while the Volkswagen Group says it could be incorporated into a number of its brands' vehicles, including self-driving Sedric pods, shuttles, delivery vans or trucks. Aurora was launched last year by three big shots in the self-driving world -- Chris Urmson, who headed Google's self-driving project before it was spun out as Waymo, Tesla's Sterling Anderson and Uber's Drew Bagnell. The company is focused on developing highly and fully autonomous driving systems that they can then license to companies like Hyundai and Volkswagen. While this sort of strategy means those companies won't have exclusive technology like they would if they developed it themselves, it allows them to get their hands on it more quickly and while devoting fewer resources to technology that is currently in constant flux.

In a development that wouldn't be out of place in a Black Mirror episode, we could soon be worshipping an artificially intelligent god figure. And this isn't a satirical take on our existing roles as disciples of social media, or the transcendental joy we feel when an Uber Eats delivery arrives. According to state filings uncovered by Wired, in September 2015 disgraced engineer Anthony Levandowski established a non-profit religious corporation called Way of the Future. Its mission: "To develop and promote the realization of a Godhead based on artificial intelligence and through understanding and worship of the Godhead contribute to the betterment of society." In the last two months alone we've seen robots perform funeral ceremonies and AI chips mimic the human brain -- could a Deus ex Machina really be that far behind? The organization hasn't responded to requests for further information about its activity, but a quick look at Levandowski's resume shows that he'd be a strong contender for divine leadership within an AI-driven faith.