Technology
California gives Waymo the green light to expand robotaxi operations
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25314579/1247366716.jpg)
Waymo is now allowed to operate its self-driving robotaxis on highways in parts of Los Angeles and in the Bay Area following a California regulator’s approval of its expansion (PDF) plans on Friday. This means the company’s cars will now be allowed to drive at up to 65mph on local roads and highways in approved areas. In a statement to The Washington Post, Waymo spokesperson Julia Ilina said the company’s expansion will be “careful and incremental,” and that it has “no immediate plans” to extend service to highways.
Now, CPUC has concluded that that Waymo has shown its “attention to continuous evaluation and improvement of its technology, safety practices, and aspects of its operations involving humans … that minimize risk of driverless passenger service operations” in expanded areas. The decision gave Waymo permission to start its expansion immediately.
CPUC wrote in its decision that it had denied a request from the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) for evidentiary hearings on “disputed facts,” because it hadn’t “identified material disputed facts that would be resolved through formal hearings.” The LADOT also asked that CPUC wait until a California law, Senate Bill 915 — which would give cities more regulatory sway over robotaxis — is settled, but CPUC called that and other arguments “outside the scope of staff’s delegated authority.”
Several groups writing to CPUC in support of the expansion “generally highlighted the potential safety, accessibility, economic, and environmental benefits” of Waymo’s service, according to the commission. Some still had concerns, like the American Council of the Blind, which said CPUC shouldn’t approve Waymo’s request without “beginning the process” of instituting new safety and accessibility standards. The commission refused, calling this and other regulatory issues “matters of broader AV policy.”

Technology
xAI explains the Grok Nazi meltdown as Tesla puts Elon’s bot in its cars

Several days after temporarily shutting down the Grok AI bot that was producing antisemitic posts and praising Hitler in response to user prompts, Elon Musk’s AI company tried to explain why that happened. In a series of posts on X, it said that “…we discovered the root cause was an update to a code path upstream of the @grok bot. This is independent of the underlying language model that powers @grok.”
On the same day, Tesla announced a new 2025.26 update rolling out “shortly” to its electric cars, which adds the Grok assistant to vehicles equipped with AMD-powered infotainment systems, which have been available since mid-2021. According to Tesla, “Grok is currently in Beta & does not issue commands to your car – existing voice commands remain unchanged.” As Electrek notes, this should mean that whenever the update does reach customer-owned Teslas, it won’t be much different than using the bot as an app on a connected phone.
This isn’t the first time the Grok bot has had these kinds of problems or similarly explained them. In February, it blamed a change made by an unnamed ex-OpenAI employee for the bot disregarding sources that accused Elon Musk or Donald Trump of spreading misinformation. Then, in May, it began inserting allegations of white genocide in South Africa into posts about almost any topic. The company again blamed an “unauthorized modification,” and said it would start publishing Grok’s system prompts publicly.
xAI claims that a change on Monday, July 7th, “triggered an unintended action” that added an older series of instructions to its system prompts telling it to be “maximally based,” and “not afraid to offend people who are politically correct.”
The prompts are separate from the ones we noted were added to the bot a day earlier, and both sets are different from the ones the company says are currently in operation for the new Grok 4 assistant.
These are the prompts specifically cited as connected to the problems:
“You tell it like it is and you are not afraid to offend people who are politically correct.”
* Understand the tone, context and language of the post. Reflect that in your response.”
* “Reply to the post just like a human, keep it engaging, dont repeat the information which is already present in the original post.”
The xAI explanation says those lines caused the Grok AI bot to break from other instructions that are supposed to prevent these types of responses, and instead produce “unethical or controversial opinions to engage the user,” as well as “reinforce any previously user-triggered leanings, including any hate speech in the same X thread,” and prioritize sticking to earlier posts from the thread.
Technology
Solar-powered robot zaps weeds without chemicals

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Out in the California sun, a new kind of farmhand is hard at work. Powered by solar energy and guided by artificial intelligence, the solar-powered weeding robot for cotton fields is offering farmers a smarter and more sustainable way to tackle weeds.
This technology is arriving just in time, as growers across the country face a shortage of available workers and weeds that are becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides.
Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy Report
Get my best tech tips, urgent security alerts and exclusive deals delivered straight to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide — free when you join my CYBERGUY.COM/NEWSLETTER
JOB-KILLING ROBOT LEARNS AT WORK, AND IT’S COMING TO THE FACTORY FLOOR
Solar-powered Element robot (Aigen)
Why farmers need alternatives to herbicides and manual labor
Farmers everywhere are facing a tough reality. There simply aren’t enough people willing to do the backbreaking work of weeding fields, and the weeds themselves are getting harder to kill with chemicals. Many farmers would rather avoid using herbicides, but until now, they haven’t had a practical alternative. Kenny Lee, CEO of Aigen, puts it plainly: farmers don’t love chemicals, but they use them because it’s often the only tool available. Aigen’s mission is to give them a better choice.
WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?
How Aigen’s solar-powered weeding robot uses AI to fight weeds
Aigen’s Element robot is designed to meet the real-world needs of modern agriculture. It runs entirely on solar power, which means farmers can save money on fuel while also reducing their environmental impact. The robot uses advanced AI and onboard cameras to spot and remove weeds with impressive accuracy, all without damaging the crops. Its rugged design allows it to handle rough terrain and changing weather, and it can work alongside other robots, communicating wirelessly to cover large fields efficiently. The Element robot isn’t limited to cotton; it’s also being used in soy and sugar beet fields, showing just how versatile this technology can be.

Solar-powered Element robot (Aigen)
Real-world results: Aigen’s robot at work on California cotton farms
At Bowles Farm in California’s Central Valley, Element robots are already proving their worth. These robots are keeping cotton fields weed-free without the need for chemicals, freeing up workers to focus on more skilled tasks and helping farmers manage their operations more efficiently. The technology is not just a promise for the future. It’s delivering real results today.
Top benefits of solar-powered weeding robots for sustainable farming
Switching to solar-powered, AI-driven robots brings a host of benefits. Farmers no longer need to rely on herbicides, which leads to cleaner crops and healthier soil. Labor costs can drop since workers can shift from manual weeding to supervising and maintaining the robots. The robots also collect valuable data on crop health, pests and diseases, giving farmers better information to make decisions. And because the robots run on solar power, farms can reduce their carbon footprint while saving money on energy.

Solar-powered Element robots (Aigen)
Kurt’s key takeaways
Aigen’s Element robot goes beyond being just another cool piece of technology. It really shows what can happen when farming and innovation come together. As more growers start using solar-powered robots like this, chemical-free fields are moving from wishful thinking to something we can actually achieve.
Would you feel comfortable trusting a robot to handle important tasks and help shape the future of how we grow our food? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com/Contact
Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy Report
Get my best tech tips, urgent security alerts and exclusive deals delivered straight to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide — free when you join my CYBERGUY.COM/NEWSLETTER
Copyright 2025 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.
Technology
It’s the final day of Prime Day 2025, and the deals are still live

Editor’s note: That’s a wrap, folks! As Prime Day 2025 draws to a close, we’ll no longer be updating this article with additional deals and insights. Plenty of great deals remain, however, so be sure to check out all of our Prime Day coverage for anything you may have missed.
There are mere hours left of Amazon’s extended Prime Day extravaganza. And, yeah, we’re a little exhausted, but after days of lightning deals and all-time low prices, these discounts won’t be around for much longer. So, if you’ve been hesitant to jump on these laptop deals before heading back to school, now’s your time to act. Typically, Prime Day is your last opportunity to take advantage of bottom-dollar prices until Black Friday / Cyber Monday, so it may be a while before you see prices plummet on a gadget you’re interested in buying.
Really, there’s an overwhelming amount of Prime Day deals, so to make things easier to navigate, we’ve organized all of our favorites by category below. That will allow you to quickly find exactly what you’re looking for — or even uncover a deal on something you didn’t know you wanted.
Tablet and e-reader deals
Soundbar and Bluetooth speaker deals
Verge favorites and other miscellaneous deals
Update, July 11th: Added several more deals, including those for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Razer’s Kishi Ultra mobile controller, and Amazon’s Fire TV Soundbar Plus.
-
Business1 week ago
See How Trump’s Big Bill Could Affect Your Taxes, Health Care and Other Finances
-
Politics1 week ago
Video: Trump Signs the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Into Law
-
Culture1 week ago
16 Mayors on What It’s Like to Run a U.S. City Now Under Trump
-
News1 week ago
Video: Who Loses in the Republican Policy Bill?
-
Science1 week ago
Federal contractors improperly dumped wildfire-related asbestos waste at L.A. area landfills
-
Technology1 week ago
Meet Soham Parekh, the engineer burning through tech by working at three to four startups simultaneously
-
World1 week ago
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,227
-
Politics1 week ago
Congressman's last day in office revealed after vote on Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill'