Ride-hailing company partners with nuTonomy in latest battle with US rival

Ride-hailing company Lyft, Uber’s chief US rival, will begin its first pilot programme for self-driving taxis in Boston later this year in conjunction with nuTonomy, the autonomous car start-up.

The partnership will present a new competitive challenge to Uber, which recently fired its top self-driving engineer and is in the middle of a trade secrets lawsuit from Waymo, the self-driving unit of Alphabet.

The Freelancers Union “53 million” report contains data results of the most comprehensive survey of the U.S. independent workforce in nearly a decade. Here are a few of the main stats from the report:

forbes.com (23.06.2017) The European Union is trying to create a law concerning the rise of the robots as they come to steal all our jobs. One of the more ludicrous suggestions is that robots should pay social security taxes for all the social security benefits they won't get. 

OECD Library (24.04.2017) This strategic foresight report assesses the interaction between demographics, economic development, climate change and social protection in six countries in East Africa between now and 2065: Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. The report combines population projections with trends in health, urbanisation, migration and climate change and identifies the implications for economic development and poverty.

jdsupra.com (10.05.2017) Due to the calling of a snap general election, the Work and Pensions Committee has curtailed its inquiry and has now published its report on the gig economy and its use of self-employment. The report is somewhat damning of companies that utilise the gig economy model.

The Department of Social Protection undertakes fraud and error surveys to identify the level of risk associated with particular schemes. The surveys highlight the risk of non-compliance with the rules of the schemes being surveyed at a particular point in time. The survey results allow the Department to target the scheme, and its particular risk areas, for stronger control measures, where necessary, to minimise the level of future risk.