Chris Campbell:

U.S. Robotics Companies Push for National Strategy, Including a Central Office, To Compete With China

American robotics companies are pushing for a national robotics strategy, including establishing a federal office focused on promoting the industry at a time when China is making intelligent robots a national priority.

Representatives of companies — including Tesla, Boston Dynamics and Agility Robotics — on Wednesday met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to show off products and push for the United States to adopt policies that would boost American companies in a global race to develop the next generation of robots.

This robotics race will be powered by artificial intelligence and will be “anybody’s to win,” Jeff Cardenas, co-founder and CEO of humanoid startup Apptronik, said in an interview after the closed-door meeting. “I think the U.S. has a great chance of winning. We’re leading in AI, and I think we’re building some of the best robots in the world. But we need a national strategy if we’re going to continue to build and stay ahead.”

Without that leadership, “the U.S. will not only lose the robotics race but also the AI race,” the Association for Advancing Automation said in a statement.

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Davis Wilson:

After 50 Million Miles, Waymos Crash a Lot Less Than Human Drivers

Since 2020, autonomous driving tech company Waymo has reported roughly 60 crashes serious enough to trigger an airbag or cause an injury. 

But those crashes occurred over more than 50 million miles of driverless operations. If you randomly selected 50 million miles of human driving—that’s roughly 70 lifetimes behind the wheel—you would likely see far more serious crashes than Waymo has experienced to date.

Also, Waymo isn't at fault for most of those wrecks. Between July 2024 and February 2025, Waymo reported 38 crashes that were serious enough to either cause an (alleged) injury or an airbag deployment. A few cases point to Waymo's fault, but the remaining 34 crashes seem to be mostly or entirely the fault of others.

Furthermore, Waymo's vehicles cause less property damage claims. Waymo’s vehicles generated nine successful or pending property damage claims over its first 25 million miles. Waymo and insurance giant Swiss Re estimate that human drivers in the same geographic areas would have generated 78 property damage claims. So Waymo generated 88% fewer property damage claims than typical human drivers.

Does that mean it's time for the wheel to take itself?

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James Altucher:

"Nomadic Matt" Kepnes on Traveling the World for $75 a Day

Is it possible to travel around the world and spend just $75 a day or less? When I was younger, I wish I'd tried it. Back then, you probably could have done it for even less, maybe $30 a day! 

The guest of this episode of The James Altucher Show, Matt Kepnes—better known as Nomadic Matt—has spent decades traveling the globe on a budget. Ten years ago, he wrote How to Travel the World on $50 a Day, and he's just updated it with How to Travel the World on $75 a Day or Less.

Matt has tips on everything from finding cheap flights and accommodations to securing remote work opportunities. Travel opens your mind without the stress that comes with age and responsibility. If you travel cheaply, you'll not only have amazing experiences but also become more successful and open-minded. 

I wish I had traveled more when I was younger—I didn't think I could afford it, but as Matt explains, you certainly can.