Bold Names

Waymo, the self-driving car startup owned by Google parent Alphabet, may be the front-runner in the race to lead the driverless car industry, but it’s got competition. Elon Musk’s Tesla and Amazon’s Zoox are also building out robotaxi technology and services to get riders in self-driving cars. On the second episode of our special series on the growing driverless car industry, host Danny Lewis looks at these companies’ efforts to catch up and where Waymo’s success could take it and its tech into the future.

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Further reading:

General Motors Scraps Cruise Robotaxi Program 

Musk Shows Off Driverless Robotaxi to Be Priced Under $30,000 

Waymo, Uber, Lyft Are Biggest Winners From Tesla’s Robotaxi Flop 

Elon Musk Plays a Familiar Song: Robot Cars Are Coming 

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Electric vehicles are a big part of the green energy transition but some of their most critical components are made using rare-earth elements. These can be highly toxic and environmentally destructive to mine and refine, with politically-complicated supply chains to boot. Engineers and automakers like Tesla, GM and Stellantis are now racing to build motors that don’t require magnets made from rare earths, but they must figure out how to match the efficiency. WSJ mining and commodities reporter Rhiannon Hoyle speaks with host Danny Lewis about why countries and companies are finding alternatives to rare earths. Plus, Oak Ridge National Laboratory engineer Burak Ozpineci tells us where new motors could take the EV industry.

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Further reading:

For EV Startups, Things Are Going From Bad to Worse 

Rare-Earth Prices Are in the Doldrums. China Wants to Keep Them That Way. 

Lynas Bets on New Rare Earths Products, Breaking China Stranglehold 

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Fifteen years ago, Google made a big bet that future cars will drive themselves. Now, billions of dollars later, that bet may finally be paying off. Waymo, Alphabet's driverless car company, has hit the accelerator in recent years as its technology has evolved, and its rivals have stumbled. On episode one of our special series on the growing driverless car industry, host Danny Lewis explores the roots of this technology and how Waymo took the lead in the race to a driverless future.

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Further reading:

How San Francisco Learned to Love Self-Driving Cars 

GM’s Self-Driving Car Unit Skids Off Course 

Self-Driving Cars Enter the Next Frontier: Freeways 

All Hail Phoenix: America’s King of the Robo-Taxi 

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Autonomous aviation is making medical aid more accessible and emergency response time shorter than ever. In this conversation from WSJ’s Future of Everything Festival in May, GoAERO CEO Gwen Lighter and Zipline CEO Keller Rinaudo Cliffton share how their respective companies are looking for ways to revamp medical access in hard to reach places. They tell WSJ’s Alex Ossola about the new industry they are forging without a roadmap. 

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Future of Everything listeners, here's a special presentation of Bold Names, our interview series where you'll hear from the leaders of the bold-named companies featured in the pages of the Wall Street Journal.

Marc Benioff is one of the most outspoken names in tech. The billionaire co-founder of customer relationship software company Salesforce has been pivoting the company’s focus to artificial intelligence agents to help its clients manage customer service and other needs. But he has some strong opinions about how others are promoting AI, from how Microsoft is marketing its Copilot feature to companies like Amazon buying up nuclear power contracts for their data centers. And yet he says he’s as excited about AI as he was the day that Apple’s Steve Jobs sent him one of the first iPhones. So what can AI actually do, and what’s a ‘fantasy’? Benioff speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins in episode two of our interview series Bold Names.

Check out Episode 1 in the Tech News Briefing Feed: Bold Names: Why This Tesla Pioneer Says the Cheap EV Market 'Sucks' 

Further Reading

A Powerful AI Breakthrough Is About to Transform the World 

With ‘Founder Mode,’ Silicon Valley Makes Micromanaging Cool 

AI Agents Can Do More Than Answer Queries. That Raises a Few Questions.  

At Marc Benioff’s Salesforce, It’s One Big Family—Until Trouble Hits 

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 Have you heard the latest hit podcast? It’s called Deep Dive. It features two relatable hosts, and it’s about whatever you want. That’s because it’s created by you and artificial intelligence. Google released an experimental audio feature as part of its personalized AI research assistant, NotebookLM. On this week’s Science of Success, Ben Cohen speaks with WSJ reporter Deepa Seetharaman about how this tech works, when it doesn’t and what makes those AI voices so convincing.

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Hollywood studios are making big bets that artificial-intelligence models could help make movie magic cheaper than ever, including in the visual effects industry. And after Lions Gate Entertainment announced a new partnership with Runway to develop new tools trained on its catalog, AI may be even more integrated in the production process. Host Danny Lewis speaks with editor, director and producer Jon Dudkowski, who has worked on shows including “Star Trek: Discovery,” “The Umbrella Academy” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” He gives us a peek behind the scenes at how movies and TV are made, and how AI could change the industry.

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Further reading:

Lionsgate, Studio Behind ‘John Wick,’ Signs Deal With AI Startup Runway  

Who Owns SpongeBob? AI Shakes Hollywood’s Creative Foundation 

Meet Hollywood’s AI Doomsayer: Joseph Gordon-Levitt 

The Outlook for Streaming: How Netflix Sees It  

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Videogame cartridges and discs have mostly been replaced by downloads. Now, some console makers like Microsoft want to move videogames into the cloud-streaming business. Joost van Dreunen, an industry analyst and CEO of market research firm Aldora, joins WSJ’s Danny Lewis to talk about the new technology behind streaming complex, interactive videogames and how it could change the multibillion-dollar industry.

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Further reading:

Xbox Lost the Console War. Now It’s Redefining Gaming. 

The Tricky—but Potentially Lucrative—Task of Streaming Videogames 

Microsoft Plans Boldest Games Bet Since Activision Deal, Changing How ‘Call of Duty’ Is Sold 

The Road Ahead for Xbox with Phil Spencer 

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Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick says we all have stories to tell and that artificial intelligence can help. This summer, the activist, author and CEO launched Lumi Story AI. Backed by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian’s venture capital firm Seven Seven Six, Kaepernick says the platform is meant to “democratize storytelling.” WSJ’s Andrew Beaton interviewed Kaepernick last week at WSJ Tech Live about the new venture and what his many life experiences have taught him about being a CEO.

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Most athletes’ competitive years are in their 20s and 30s, but 61-year-old Ni Xia Lian has been playing professional table tennis for nearly 50 years. The Chinese-born Luxembourgish table-tennis player was one of the oldest athletes at this summer’s Paris Olympics. On the Science of Success, WSJ’s Ben Cohen speaks with Ni and Tommy Danielsson, her coach and husband, about how she’s maintained her longevity in competitive sports.

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