New York governor Kathy Hochul says she will propose a new law allowing limited autonomous vehicle pilots in smaller cities. Full-blown services could be next. As self-driving car services from Alphabet's Waymo, Amazon's Zoox, and Tesla have slowly, quietly expanded across the US, one big, important state has mostly stayed mum: New York . The union's fourth most populous state has some of the tightest laws governing autonomous vehicles, requiring companies approved to test in the state to only do so with a driver behind the wheel. There's no current path for companies to operate the sort of commercial robotaxi services like the sort seen in San Francisco or Las Vegas.

As unknown airborne craft traverse the night skies in parts of the United States, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called upon the Department of Homeland Security to deploy 360-degree radar systems capable of detecting drones. "Our local people who have questions about these drones should not have to shake an eight ball to get an answer," Schumer said, holding up a magic eight ball toy in one hand and an image of a drone in another. Schumer wants a 360-degree radar system produced by Dutch company Robin Radar Systems deployed to the New York and New Jersey region. NJ DRONE SIGHTINGS COULD BE A'CLASSIFIED EXERCISE': FORMER CIA OFFICER Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. speaks during a news conference following the weekly Senate Democratic policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 10, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) The website of Robin Radar Systems notes, "Bird, bat, or drone, our 360 radar systems log thousands of observations, scanning every second to track and classify with precision." "They want real answers, and the Robin can supply those answers, and that's why we want them here," Schumer said.

This is Totally Normal Quote of the Day, a feature highlighting a statement from the news that exemplifies just how extremely normal everything has become. "Right now, we have young Black kids growing up in the Bronx who don't even know what the word computer is. They don't know, they don't know these things." If recent polling is any indication, it seems pretty clear to everyone that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul could be doing a better job of running her state. If I may offer a little advice, maybe she could start by understanding New York City a little better--and by being just a biiiiiiit less racist.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul tells an audience at the Milken Institute that there are "young black kids in the Bronx" who "don't even know what the word'computer' is." (Credit: Governor Kathy Hochul) New York Gov. Kathy Hochul apologized this week after saying there are black kids in the Bronx who don't know what the word "computer" means. Hochil made the remarks during an address at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles, California. "Now what we have is the money to build a phenomenal super computer that is gonna be accessible to the researchers in New York, college students, will attract more federal grants, and this is how we lay down the mark," Hochul said. "No state has done this. In fact, I talk to a lot of other people who say, 'I wish my governor had thought of that first.' I say, 'No no, this is New York. We like to be first,' with all due respect to you from other states."

In a press release on Tuesday, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the University at Albany will become the home of a new artificial intelligence supercomputing initiative. The $200 million project will turn the building which was formerly Albany High School into an engineering college capable of housing a supercomputer that can reach a quintillion computations per second. It would be the first university-based supercomputer capable of reaching that kind of production. In the press release, Governor Hochul said "My administration is steadfast in its commitment to transform SUNY into a globally renowned, 21st century education leader. This funding will help drive economic revenue by attracting companies to New York's emerging advanced research centers, creating jobs and strengthening communities for decades to come."