©REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage
Pre-reading questions:
- What companies or initiatives do you know of that are involved in working on self-driving technology?
- Would you consider buying a self-driving car? Why or why not?
Vocabulary:
- manual /MAN-yoo-uhl/
- expand /ik-SPAND/
- measure /MEZH-er/
- analyst /AN-l-ist/
- optimistic /op-tuh-MIS-tik/
[adjective] – operated or controlled directly by a human, typically involving physical effort
The company required manual labor for assembling the products.
[verb] – to increase in size, number, or importance, or to make something increase in this way
The company plans to expand its operations into new markets next year.
[noun] – a way of achieving something, or a method for dealing with a situation
Implementing strict safety measures helped reduce accidents in the workplace.
[noun] – someone whose job is to study or examine something in detail, in order to discover or understand more about it and often to make predictions (statements about what will happen in the future) relating to it
The financial analyst predicted a positive trend in the stock market for the upcoming quarter.
[adjective] – having confidence in a positive or favorable outcome
Despite the challenges, she remained optimistic about her career prospects after graduation.
Article reading:
The CEO and chief product officer leaving indicate how deeply this problem impacted an industry that depends on public trust and following rules. Cruise’s plans to expand its self-driving taxi services to multiple cities have been delayed. To regain trust, Cruise will start again in only one city, working on improving safety measures. They want to prove their abilities before thinking about expanding more widely. Cruise will mainly use its Cruise AVs based on the Bolt for now and is planning for the long term with the Origin, a vehicle that does not need human controls. During this pause in operations, Cruise has also reduced its workforce, especially in non-engineering jobs. Additionally, the company intends to provide detailed information in the near future without specifying the exact timeline. GM’s financial head, Paul Jacobson, is going to talk about the possible effects on finances in an upcoming meeting with analysts. Meanwhile, GM’s CEO, Mary Barra, who was optimistic about Cruise’s ability to make money, now faces challenges because of the company’s financial losses and the changing stock market, worrying investors.
Comprehension questions
- Why did Cruise stop its self-driving services across the United States, and what changes did this decision bring to the company?
- What are Cruise’s plans for restarting their self-driving car services after the recent problems they faced?
- How did the recent issues at Cruise impact the company’s workforce, and what measures did they take during this time?
- Why does Cruise want to start its operations in only one city again, and what are they doing to rebuild trust with the public?
- What concerns does GM’s CEO, Mary Barra, face due to Cruise’s financial losses and the changes in the stock market, and how does it affect the investors’ views?
Discussion questions
- Have you ever used or been in a self-driving car? If yes, what was it like, and do you trust this technology? If not, what worries or hopes do you have about using self-driving cars in the future?
- Have you experienced any problems with new technology? If yes, how did these problems change how you see new technology? If not, what problems do you think might arise with new technology today?
- Do you think people need to trust self-driving cars and have rules for them to work well in our society?
- How could the recent issues faced by Cruise affect how much people use and how we control self-driving cars?
- Considering the CEO and chief product officer stepping down following the incident, what role does leadership accountability play in restoring public trust in autonomous vehicle technology and its safe deployment?