1)Can We Say What is GOOD ART 2) Self Driving Cars/ future of Transport

1).Can We Say What is GOOD ART?

We see lists of best movies, greatest songs, best actors, genius paintings, with award ceremonies and accolades of one sort or another.

How should we feel about these lists? Centrally, can art be defined and is there better and worse art? Can art in any form be measured? Are there criteria than can be used to determine these questions? Is culture a factor? Can there be a universal set of factors that apply across time and space to define and rank art?

2). Self Driving Cars and the Future of Transport

Finance/Safety/Geopolitics:

In 1995 researchers drove 3,000 miles across the US without their hands on the steering wheel. Today Alphabet Waymo, has 2500 autonomous cars in five US cities, which will double next year. Self-driving software is reaching car makers, long haul trucks and delivery vans. This technology could be worth $1trillion in America alone. Swiss Re insurance showed that robotaxis generated 88% fewer property damage and 92% fewer bodily-injury claims than human operated vehicles. Operating robotaxis are 4x the cost of human operated taxies in the US.

In China Pony.ai, ApolloGo, WeRide, CaoCao are all part of the robotaxis rollout in 50 cities. They are $40,000 rather than in the US $130,000. They have other advantages such as government backing with embedded infrastructure, fierce competition, a large domestic market and accommodating looser rules.

Culture: Will self driving cars make public transport less appealing with less development and support from government or will public transport become privatized? Will employment in transport plummet or will jobs become more technical? What other effects will self driving vehicles bring to society?