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Robotaxis are crashing into the rideshare market. Drivers for apps like Uber and Lyft are growing worried about autonomous vehicles. Waymo has already deployed their vehicles across a handful of cities, taking riders from place to place without the need for a human driver. Waymo partnered with Uber in Austin, where Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the robotaxis were busier than over 99% of all drivers. The gig workers worry that their demand may be crushed, or that their wages and tips will be suppressed, thanks to the growing self-driving alternative. As Lyft dips into the AV race, the rideshare company is hoping to involve its drivers directly into the process. Lyfts new Driver Autonomous Forum will convene 6 to 10 drivers to discuss individual points of challenge in the AV expansion. Lyft envisions the program as a direct channel between drivers and senior leadership. The first will be held in Atlanta, where Lyft is soon debuting their partnership with May Mobility. We know AVs are going to transform the transportation network business, and we know this is something that drivers who come to Lyft care about deeply, Jeremy Bird, Lyfts executive vice president of driver experience, writes in an email to Fast Company. We wanted to create an intentional, structured way to gather their feedback on how we can innovate in a human-centered way. Inside the Lyft Driver Autonomous Forum As Lyft debuts its Atlanta AV options, the company is looking for feedback. The company has no plans to eliminate human drivers entirely; Bird continuously refers to a hybrid economy of human-driven and autonomous vehicles. But Lyft understands that robotaxis will necessarily distort the rideshare labor market. We’re using qualitative datathings like driver ratings and loyalty statusto identify drivers who are both highly qualified and invested in our shared success, Bird wrote. Some drivers will participate in multiple meetings to ensure continuity, while others will rotate in based on their specific expertise or regional knowledge. Rideshare drivers have already seen their business hurt by robotaxis. Phoenix and Los Angeles are especially overloaded with Waymos. Drivers from those cities told Business Insider that they saw decreased earnings after the deployment, and that they had to focus on more lucrative airport trips to earn their living. As these self-driving vehicles flood the market, part of the battle might be shifting gig-work drivers to other positions. Lyft understands this; the Driver Autonomous Forums will spend time discussing the growth of alternative work. Things like remote vehicle support, fleet management, or other roles we haven’t even thought of yet, Bird wrote. How can rideshare companies prepare their drivers for robotaxis? Most rideshare companies are unwilling to claim that their drivers will be directly replaced by robotaxis. In his email, Bird noted that AVs don’t just compete with drivers for a slice of the rideshare pie; they grow the pie. Ubers robotaxi chief Andrew McDonald previously said that there will be more Uber drivers in 10 years, not less. But drivers are worried. Michele Dottin is a longtime rideshare driver and the executive director for education at the Independent Drivers Guild. She doesnt want to temper or collaborate on the robotaxi expansionshe wants to stop it. How many hundreds of thousands of drivers are going to be out of work? Dottin asks. These vehicles wont be buying food. They wont be going to the grocery store or buying clothes. Not only does it affect our immediate economy, but it affects all the other industries that rely on people to go out and shop. Dottin makes the comparison to the shift from in-person retail to e-commerce. Customers were told that the solution was more convenient. How many teenagers used those jobs in the summer to make a little money? Now theres nowhere for them to go, Dottin says. The drivers Dottin has spoken to arent just worried about a loss of incometheyre also worried about a loss of independence, just like those retail workers now relegated to an Amazon warehouse. Lyft and Uber drivers operate in the gig economy, where their work is highly variable. According to a 2015 survey, 69% of Uber drivers had other part-time or full-time jobsa number experts expect has increased in the proceeding decade. In high-cost New York City, the average Uber driver makes about $32 per hour, though their income varies based on the time and distances they drive, as well as how many rides they take on. Because of the variable market, Andrew Garin cautions against thinking of robotaxi replacement as job loss. Garin studies the gig economy as an assistant professor of economics at Carnegie Mellon University. His research demonstrates that ridesharing is not the primary job for most drivers. Drivers may not be losing their 9-to-5, but they could be losing an income stream. Its going to be hard to make the same living you did when there were great jobs waiting every second when you drop someone off, Garin says. So yes, its going to cut into that. Lyfts Driver Autonomous Forum isnt going to change these market conditions. It wont stop the shifting demands for a labor market already hit hard by COVID-19, and it wont make sure high-tipping riders are always available for human drivers. But it will, at a minimum, hear them out. We’re committed to managing this transition in a way that continues to support drivers who come to our platform and recognizes their enormous contributions, Bird wrote.
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E-Commerce
Shares of Nvidia Corp (Nasdaq: NVDA) reached a new record high on Thursday in premarket trading. As of the time of writing, the stock had peaked at $156.99 before slightly sliding to $156.68. The uptick follows Wednesdays all-time high closing price of $154.31, which rose to $154.59 in after-hours trading. DeepSeek and tariffs worried investors earlier this year Nvidia has been a de facto representative of AI investment in the market. It reached a high of $153.13 in early January, but its shares soon tumbled alongside Chinas success with AI company DeepSeek and uncertainty around tariffs. DeepSeek used Nvidia chips to build its AI systems despite the United States banning their sale to China. The stock hit a low of $86.62 on April 7, just five days after President Trumps Liberation Day, on which he announced a series of tariffs worldwide. But now, at nearly double that price, it has recovered its lossesand signaled a renewed investment in AI. However, it comes as the dollar hits a three-year low after reports that Trump will move up his selection of a new Federal Reserve chair, the Wall Street Journal reports. What’s fueling Nvidia’s recent rally? The chipmakers current ascension was fueled in part by Loop Capitals decision yesterday to raise its price target from $175 to $250. Our work suggests we are entering the next Golden Wave of Gen AI adoption, and NVDA is at the front-end of another material leg of stronger than anticipated demand, Loop Capital analyst Ananda Baruah stated in a client note, according to Reuters. Helped along by Nvidias 4% rise on Wednesday, the Nasdaq composite also neared its record high with a 0.3% increase.
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E-Commerce
Oprah Winfrey arrived in Venice on Thursday, leading a star-studded guest list of celebrities descending on the lagoon city for the weekend wedding of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez.Winfrey’s private jet landed at Venice’s Marco Polo airport. Former American footballer Tom Brady arrived soon thereafter.The bride and groom pulled into the Aman Hotel dock on the Grand Canal on Wednesday, traveling via water taxi with security boats in tow. A few hours later they slipped out of the hotel, with Sánchez wearing a sleek black and white striped, one-shoulder gown.The details of the nuptials have been a tightly kept secret, though the locations now appear to have firmed up as has the guest list.Ivanka Trump, her husband Jared Kushner, and their three children arrived Wednesday.Other celebrities on the guest list, according to two people close to the wedding who spoke on condition of anonymity, because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly, include: Kim Kardashian Mick Jagger Leonardo DiCaprio Orlando Bloom Microsoft founder Bill Gates Diane von Furstenberg and her husband Barry Diller Katy Perry had originally been expected but the latest update had her as not attending.The wedding has divided Venice, with some activists protesting it as an exploitation of the city by the billionaire Bezos while ordinary residents suffer from overtourism, high housing costs and the constant threat of climate-induced flooding.One group called Extinction Rebellion staged a small protest in St. Mark’s Square on Thursday featuring a masked bride and groom and people holding posters decrying climate change and income inequalities.“The planet is burning but don’t worry, here’s the list of the 27 dresses of Lauren Sanchez,” read one, a reference to the bride’s reported wedding weekend wardrobe.Protesters said that their plans to disrupt the arrivals of guests at one of the wedding venues forced organizers to move the event to the more secure Arsenale area beyond Venice’s congested center.The city administration has strongly defended the nuptials as keeping with Venice’s tradition as an open city that has welcomed popes, emperors and ordinary visitors alike for centuries.“We will always respect the right to speak out, but we reject every form of intolerance and prejudice,” Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said in Thursday’s edition of Italian newspaper Il Foglio Quotidiano. “No one in Venice can claim the right of deciding who can enter, who can love, who can celebrate.” Luca Bruno, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
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