Donald Trump granted clemency to 237 people during his administration. Some of the pardons--particularly those related to drug offenses--fit within the norms of the office. But a much larger portion were favors done for wealthy people who could access Trump through top-dollar lawyers, golf clubs, rich South Floridian social circles, and family. We revisited these pardons four years later to see what they could tell us about Trump's 2024 campaign. The biggest takeaway had to do with the shadowy political operatives--including Steve Bannon, Michael Flynn, and Roger Stone--who have spent the past four years pushing dangerous and wild election conspiracy theories in hopes they will be rewarded once more.

The two companies were previously fierce rivals, with financial analysts predicting that Uber would eventually have to get rid of human drivers in order to be highly profitable and justify its massive valuation. The company began investing heavily in artificial intelligence, and then it even hired away a top Google self-driving engineer, Anthony Levandowski. Google later sued Uber in 2017, accusing Levandowski of stealing trade secrets, and the two companies eventually settled.

Beginning later this year, Phoenix area residents and visitors will be able to hail Waymo taxis through Uber, thanks to a new "multi-year" partnership the two companies announced on Tuesday. The pact will see a "set number" of Waymo vehicles made available to Uber users for rides and deliveries. The announcement comes after Waymo recently doubled its Phoneix service area to 180 square miles. Waymo spokesperson Katherine Barna told The Verge the robotaxis the company is making available to Uber users wouldn't be exclusive to the platform. Phoenix residents can continue to turn to the Waymo One if they want an autonomous ride somewhere.

In fact, it may be further off from being fully -- and safely -- autonomous than we're led to believe. "You'd be hard-pressed to find another industry that's invested so many dollars in R&D and that has delivered so little," said self-driving pioneer Anthony Levandowski, in a must-read new interview with Bloomberg. As the cofounder of Google's self-driving division, Levandowski is acknowledged by his peers as one of the key engineers that got the industry up and running. But in recent years, he's become persona non grata off the back of a calamitous lawsuit that virtually ended his career (but more on that later). In spite of eyewatering sums spent on development over the past decade -- not to mention the almost comically enthusiastic support of Tesla CEO Elon Musk -- the internet is still frequently horrified by footage of the tech going haywire, screwing up, or facing yet another investigation from the government.

Nowadays, much of humanity's hopes are placed in the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI), which is seen as a way to cure diseases, improve diagnostics or care for the environment. However, there are also many fears motivated by the possibility that the algorithms could end up escaping human control. In fact, some intellectual figures of the stature of the late physicist Stephen Hawking have reflected on the apocalyptic risk of these technologies, a warning that has been joined by others such as tech magnate Elon Musk and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet. While the debate continues, here is a series of developments in recent years that will neither save the world nor bring about its demise, but rather serve to entertain us with the more curious side of AI. Can the sexual orientation of people be detected by their appearance?

This article was published in The Stream (July 6, 2022) under the title "The Church of Artificial Intelligence of the Future" and is republished with permission. There is a church that worships artificial intelligence (AI). Zealots believe that an extraordinary AI future is inevitable. The technology is not here yet, but we are assured that it's coming. We will have the ability to be uploaded onto a computer and thereby achieve immortality.

There is a church that worships artificial intelligence (AI). Zealots believe that an extraordinary AI future is inevitable. The technology is not here yet, but we are assured that it's coming. We will have the ability to be uploaded onto a computer and thereby achieve immortality. You will be reborn into a new, immortal silicon body.

Waymo and Uber have signed a long-term, strategic partnership to collaborate on long-haul autonomous trucking. The idea is to help customers deploy autonomous trucks more efficiently. Those who buy trucks equipped with the Waymo Driver system will be able to tap into Uber Freight's marketplace technology, meaning they'll be able to deploy vehicles on the latter's network for deliveries. Uber Freight is essentially a version of the regular Uber app designed for shippers, which helps them find truck drivers for on-demand haulage. Waymo Via -- the company's trucking division -- plans to earmark billions of miles of goods-only driverless delivery capacity for the Uber Freight network.

Here's some news that's likely to give Elon Musk a heart attack: a former Google engineer has founded a religious organization that seeks to "develop and promote the realization of a Godhead based on Artificial Intelligence." Anthony Levandowski co-founded self-driving trucking company Otto, which Uber acquired for $680 million in 2016. He became head of engineering for the ride-hailing firm's autonomous vehicle division, and made headlines after being fired in May following allegations he stole trade secrets from former employer Google. It seems Levandowski could now become more famous for his nonprofit religious entity, called Way of the Future, which he founded in September 2015. Wired's Backchannel discovered previously unreported state filings that reveal the corporation aims "through understanding and worship of the Godhead, [to] contribute to the betterment of society."

The Way of the Future, a church founded by a former Google and Uber engineer, is now a thing of the past. It's been a few months since the world's first AI-focused church shuttered its digital doors, and it doesn't look like its founder has any interest in a revival. But it's a pretty safe bet we'll be seeing more robo-centric religious groups in the future. Perhaps, however, they won't be about worshipping the machines themselves. The world's first AI church "The Way of the Future," was the brainchild of Anthony Levandowski, a former autonomous vehicle developer who was convicted on 33 counts of theft and attempted theft of trade secrets. In the wake of his conviction, Levandowski was sentenced to 18 months in prison but his sentence was delayed due to COVID and, before he could be ordered to serve it, former president Donald Trump pardoned him.