Sunday, March 29, 2015

Is #Uber getting #Ubered by Google or will it be the other way around?

Bloomberg reported that Google and Uber are going to war. They used to be friends. Now, while Bloomberg has to show impartiality as a news provider it should be understood that Michael Bloomberg has a sizable stake in Uber (correction, it's Lyft). His friend David Yassky got a consultancy job with Lyft soon after he left his job as Chair of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission after Bloomberg left as Mayor.

Knowing that, the article says that Google is working on its own taxi e hail app and that in spite of having invested around $300 million into Uber the two tech companies are working against each other on developing a Driverless Car, something Google says will be ready for prime time in from two to five years.

Uber depends on Google maps and there really isn't a map out there that comes close.

Google has made deals with Pandora, AirBNB, and Lyft to share data with Android users on Google Now.

Uber is apparently out in the cold on this deal. Uber is working with Carnegie Mellon university in Pittsburgh on its Driverless Car, but it's not likely that they can catch up with Google.

Given the prevailing reptilian moral code that Uber personifies but that is the ethical baseline in politics and journalism world wide Google had better watch its back. Just as the driver app in Uber and the rest is a public safety threat engendering armadas of distracted drivers on the streets and highways Uber can be relied upon to put its Driverless Car onto the road first, "ready or not." Doubtless the authorities will have been taken care of through a blend of blackmail and bribery and thanks to corruption the carnage will begin.

Personally I unhappily recognize that the Driverless Car is an inevitable development. My objections count for nothing and technological advances won't be stopped. However I will say "Look out world for the not ready for prime time Driverless Car."

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