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New Delhi: India's fossil fuel emissions are projected to rise by 4.6 per cent in 2024, while China could see a marginal rise of 0.2 per cent, according to new research by a group of international scientists. As the UN climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, discussed raising trillions of dollars to tackle <keyword id="19907392" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Climate-change" source="keywords">climate change</keyword>, the group of scientists known as the "Global Carbon Project" warned that emissions from fossil fuels -- the main driver of warming -- could hit a record 37.4 billion tonnes in 2024, up 0.8 percent from 2023 levels. This comes despite rapid growth in renewable energy and a landmark agreement at COP28 in Dubai last year to move away from fossil fuels. The "<keyword id="23948569" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Global-carbon-budget-2024" source="keywords">Global Carbon Budget 2024</keyword>" report said total global CO2 emissions are set to go up from 40.6 billion tons in 2023 to 41.6 billion metric tons in 2024, which is on course to become the warmest year on record. "The impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly dramatic, yet we still see no sign that burning of fossil fuels has peaked," Professor Pierre Friedlingstein of Exeter's Global Systems Institute, who led the study, said. The 'Global Carbon Project' team said India, the world's most populous country and fastest-growing major economy, may see its fossil fuel emissions rise by 4.6 percent. According to a UN report released last month, India's greenhouse gas emissions surged by 6.1 per cent in 2023, contributing to 8 per cent of the global total. However, the country's historical contribution to global CO2 emissions stands at only 3 per cent. India's per capita emissions remain low at 2.9 tons of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e), far below the global average of 6.6 tCO2e. India, the world's third-largest greenhouse gas emitter, has pledged to reach net zero emissions (balancing emissions with removals) by 2070 and aims to achieve 500 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2030. China's emissions, which make up 32 per cent of the global total, are likely to increase slightly by 0.2 per cent, though there is a chance they could decline, according to the data released on Wednesday. Emissions from the United States and the European Union, which contribute 13 per cent and 7 per cent of the global total, are both set to decline, with drops of 0.6 per cent for the US and 3.8 per cent for the EU. Emissions from the rest of the world, which together account for 38 per cent of global emissions, could see a rise of 1.1 per cent. The researchers said that in 2024, coal emissions will likely increase by 0.2 per cent, oil by 0.9 per cent, and gas by 2.4 per cent, globally. Coal, oil, and gas contribute 41 per cent, 32 per cent, and 21 per cent of global fossil CO2 emissions, respectively. However, given the uncertainty in projections, it remains possible that coal emissions could decline in 2024, they said. The report also pointed out that emissions from international aviation and shipping, which account for 3 per cent of global emissions and are tracked separately from national or regional totals, are expected to rise by 7.8 per cent in 2024. However, these emissions will still be 3.5 per cent below the 2019 pre-pandemic levels. Globally, emissions from land-use changes, like deforestation, have dropped by 20 per cent over the past decade but are expected to rise in 2024. Permanent CO2 removal through reforestation and new forest planting now offsets about half of the emissions from permanent deforestation, they added. Technology-based CO2 removal accounts for only a tiny fraction -- around one-millionth -- of CO2 emissions from fossil fuels. The report said that emissions from fires in 2024 have been above the average since the beginning of the satellite record in 2003, particularly due to the extreme 2023 wildfire season in Canada (which continued into 2024) and severe drought in Brazil. Land and ocean carbon sinks continued to absorb around half of the total carbon emissions, despite being negatively affected by climate change.

Global fossil emissions to reach record high in 2024; India's share to rise by 4.6 pc: Report

<ul><li><keyword id="19902762" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Google" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Google" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Google">Google</keyword> is working on a new AI agent</li><li>It will be able to carry out tasks from your web browser</li><li>The AI agent can be unveiled in December this year</li></ul> When ChatGPT was introduced by<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/chatgpt-parent-openai-is-reportedly-planning-to-launch-a-new-ai-model-soon-but-not-everyone-will-get-it/articleshow/114568958.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank"> OpenAI back in 2022, </a>it felt like something out of a Sci-Fi film. The generative AI chatbot could compose poetry, write content, tell jokes and even give life advice. Over time, we all got used to the chatbot and today there are many other AI chatbots that exist and are good at a number of things. Now, yet another Sci-Fi concept might soon be a reality. Get ready to meet Google's <keyword id="20215528" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jarvis" source="keywords">Jarvis</keyword>. Now, if the name Jarvis rings any bells, it is because it is also the AI assistant of Marvel Cinematic Universe's beloved superhero Iron Man aka Tony Stark. <h2>"J.A.R.V.I.S., you there?"</h2> According to a report in The Information, Google is set to unveil its latest innovation, <keyword id="23704353" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Project-Jarvis" source="keywords">Project Jarvis</keyword>, as early as December this year. And AI assistant might just be able to take over your web browser and carry out activities on your behalf. The report adds that Jarvis might automate tasks like online shopping, research, flight bookings and so on. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="114003200" title="Google takes steps to protect Android devices from theft, rolls out new features" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> Set to leverage an upcoming version of Google’s <keyword id="20508685" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gemini-AI" source="keywords">Gemini AI</keyword>, Project Jarvis is particularly focused on enhancing functionality within Google Chrome. The AI agent promises to automate everyday web-based tasks, streamlining processes that typically require multiple steps. For instance, when booking a flight, users traditionally navigate through various websites, comparing prices and options manually. With Jarvis, users would merely input their preferences, and the AI would handle the legwork, presenting the best options <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/article/nvidias-chatrtx-could-be-your-alternative-to-chatgpt-for-reading-long-documents-and-it-doesnt-need-an-internet-connection/articleshow/113902265.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">without the usual hassle.</a> <h2>When will Jarvis be available? </h2> Google, meanwhile, hasn't announce the project publicly and is yet to give out any details. As mentioned already, The Information reports that we can meet Jarvis as early as December this year. The company is also reportedly fine-tuning the AI system to ensure a smooth user experience, with initial testing planned for a select group of users before any broader rollout. While Jarvis might be able to make our lives easier, the project might also raise important questions about reliance on AI. The integration of such technology into everyday web browsing could lead to a diminished ability for users to verify information or explore personalised options on their own. Furthermore, as Jarvis gains deeper access to users’ browsing habits and preferences, privacy concerns could emerge, prompting discussions about data security and user control. As we await the official unveiling, the implications of Project Jarvis for daily online tasks are already sparking conversations among tech enthusiasts and industry experts alike. If successful, this AI agent could transform the way we interact with our web browsers.

"Jarvis, you there?": Google's new AI agent might take over your web browser and carry out tasks on your behalf

If you open X or TikTok right now, you might be convinced that Vice President<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/business-leaders-that-kamala-harris-could-recruit-for-cabinet-2024-10"> Kamala Harris</a> is going to win the presidential election in a landslide. Donald Trump's lead is disappearing, even in red states, people say, pointing to fringe polls and purported quotes from campaign insiders. Florida and Texas are turning blue. More women and young people have registered to vote. And some believe the stars are aligning and astrological clues point to her definitive ascendence to the top job.Or, depending on what your feed looks like, you might see that Trump has this one in the bag. These believers cite a flood of MAGA hats in California, or a phalanx of children dressed as Trump (and, disturbingly, Trump's would-be assassin) for Halloween in blue Philadelphia. Or that there's less support for Harris among some demographics in swing states compared to when President <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-biden-maga-supporters-puerto-rico-election-2024-10">Joe Biden</a> won in 2020. New Hampshire and Virginia are turning red. Even X owner and Trump megadonor Elon Musk is extrapolating and framing early voting data to prematurely declare the prized swing state of Pennsylvania "will be a decisive Republican victory."In an election cycle where national and swing-state polls have been neck and neck for weeks, voters are taking to X and TikTok to confidently declare their candidate will win decisively. It's a response to a time of extreme anxiety and uncertainty, when Americans are more polarized than ever and have been told "this will be the last election" if their candidate does not win. There are maps covered in blue and opposing ones covered in red, with Electoral College predictions swaying wildly. "Harris is about to win in a blowout," one says. Others, Musk included, point to an electoral map based on Polymarket election-betting odds, rather than polls, as evidence that Trump will win. Each individual post might not be so significant — if it weren't for powerful algorithms on TikTok and X that relentlessly push such posts out to others.This is the type of content that social sites' algorithms have long loved. Social-media conversations gather around extremes. People at the farthest ends of the ideological spectrum are most likely to post their views on social media, a 2021 study from the Pew Research Center found. Social platforms' algorithms reward "this strong confidence and extreme opinions and engenders extreme reactions," says Ioana Literat, an associate professor at Columbia University's Teachers College and the coauthor of "Not Your Parents' Politics: Understanding Young People's Political Expression on Social Media." "If there's a video that says, 'Polls are too close to tell,' that's not going to be the post that gets the most likes."While the algorithms are in part to blame, we also have a deeply human aversion to uncertainty. To quiet the noise, we surround ourselves with others who feel confident that our shared candidate will win.Other social platforms have sought to disentangle themselves from this kind of divisive political speech. In 2016, much brazen political dialogue took place on Facebook, where your opinionated uncle posted misinformation with abandon. For the past few years, Meta has pushed news out of Facebook feeds. And earlier this year, the company made further moves to de-emphasize political content on Instagram, Facebook, and Threads. All of this follows accusations that Facebook basically "destroyed democracy," as Megan Smith, the former chief technology officer of the United States, put it. Despite the efforts to change, deceptive political ads are still widespread on Facebook and Instagram, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.propublica.org/article/facebook-instagram-meta-deceptive-political-ads-election">ProPublica reported</a> this week. Meta's "enforcement systems had already detected and disabled a large portion of the Pages — and we reviewed and took action against the remainder of these Pages for various policy violations," Tracy Clayton, a Meta spokesperson, said in a statement to ProPublica.Since the 2016 and 2020 elections, the political reach of both X and TikTok have grown. A recent <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/10/29/elon-musk-x-republican-democrat-twitter-election/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNzMwMTc0NDAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzMxNTYwMzk5LCJpYXQiOjE3MzAxNzQ0MDAsImp0aSI6ImRjZjEzNDYxLTBlNjEtNGNhYy1hODE2LTMxNmIyZmRiNDcyMiIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS90ZWNobm9sb2d5LzIwMjQvMTAvMjkvZWxvbi1tdXNrLXgtcmVwdWJsaWNhbi1kZW1vY3JhdC10d2l0dGVyLWVsZWN0aW9uLyJ9._swxWtRAVNu7JUVWoRNfQo9uNEN8IbkWnVcw-C_22eg">Washington Post analysis</a> of X published this week found that Republican leaders are gaining followers and going viral more often since Musk took over the platform. A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/x-twitter-political-content-election-2024-28f2dadd">Wall Street Journal analysis</a> found that newly created X accounts were often fed political content, even if they signed up looking for other topics, and that content leaned more heavily toward pro-Trump sentiments. (X did not respond to a request to comment on this story.) Meanwhile, half of the 18- to 29-year-olds surveyed by the Pew Research Center saying they watch political content on TikTok. A TikTok spokesperson declined to comment for this story but directed me to a webpage that says TikTok's policy is to label "unverified election claims, make them ineligible for recommendation, and prompt people to reconsider before sharing them."The overconfident rhetoric isn't just polarizing; it could have more dangerous implications. "If one side is expecting the race to be a blowout and the other side wins, that sort of lays the groundwork for broad support for challenging the results," says Sol Messing, a research associate professor at New York University's Center for Social Media and Politics. (Messing previously worked for Twitter but says he volunteered to be laid off when Musk bought the platform in 2022, and he refused severance to avoid signing a non-disparagement agreement.) "Parts of this may reflect this broader, far-right strategy," he added.On X, there is now an Election Integrity Community, launched by Musk's America PAC in late October. Here, people are encouraged to "share potential incidents of voter fraud or irregularities you see while voting in the 2024 election" — sightings they would typically report to official government agencies for investigation. Many of the recent posts show clear support for Trump in their claims of voting fraud and interference: On Thursday, one user posted photos of what appeared to be Ohio voting ballots with Trump's name misprinted. Election officials, however, say they have <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/10/31/ohio-election-officials-say-altered-trump-name-on-ballot-likely-a-hoax/75969483007/">not seen such ballots</a>.While Trump has repeatedly said that the only way he'd lose is through election fraud, many posts from candidates and their famous endorsers don't express the same swaggering confidence we see across feeds. Ads for Harris on Instagram implore people to get to the polls and donate more money, calling it "an all-hands-on-deck moment." Michelle Obama says the race "is too close," and "we have to give it everything we've got." And even Trump is back to posting on X, urging people to vote early — a shift from 2020, when he demonized mail-in voting.No one on social media has the answer to what will happen in Tuesday's election. Anxiously reposting or liking election content may feel like the only thing we can do as the clock ticks down. "We know it's a period of really high anxiety," says Literat. "This is definitely shaped by the context. But it's also that content that really offers certainty or that resonates with hope or with fears that's spread more rapidly, too." For now, the best way to alleviate that anxiety might be to get off social media until Tuesday passes.<a target="_blank" rel="" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/amanda-hoover">Amanda Hoover</a> is a senior correspondent at Business Insider covering the tech industry. She writes about the biggest tech companies and trends.

Twitter and TikTok users' election projections are completely warped. Here's why.

India's GDP growth is projected at 7.2 per cent in 2024-25, around 7 per cent in the next fiscal, and after that, there is a strong likelihood that the growth will revert to the 8 per cent trend, said <keyword id="19899810" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reserve-Bank-of-India" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Reserve Bank of India" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Reserve Bank of India">Reserve Bank of India</keyword> deputy governor <keyword id="20244361" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Michael-Debabrata-Patra" source="keywords">Michael Debabrata Patra</keyword>. He was speaking at the New York Fed Central Banking Seminar organised by the <keyword id="20238413" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Federal-Reserve-Bank" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Federal Reserve Bank" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Federal Reserve Bank">Federal Reserve Bank</keyword> here on Monday. "...I do believe with all the strength of my conviction that India's time has come," he said, and highlighted the country heads into its future with the youngest population in the world with a median age of 28 years. Unlike in many parts of the world, the working age population is growing -- every sixth working age person is an Indian. Patra said that since independence in 1947, India's growth path has undergone three structural shifts with trend growth, having risen to 7 per cent during 2002-2019. After the severe contraction during the pandemic, a new growth trajectory averaging 8 per cent seems to be forming during 2021-24, he said. India is now regarded as the fastest growing major economy in the world. Already the fifth largest economy in terms of market exchange rates, it is poised to become the third largest economy by 2030, the senior RBI official said and added the country is already the third largest economy in terms of <keyword id="20776921" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="purchasing-power-parity" source="keywords">purchasing power parity</keyword>. "Our projections show that India's <keyword id="21013593" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="real-GDP-growth" source="keywords">real GDP growth</keyword> will be 7.2 per cent in 2024-25 and around 7.0 per cent in 2025-26 in a cyclical correction to the rebound from the pandemic. Thereafter, there is a strong likelihood that India's growth will revert to the 8 per cent trend," Patra said. On inflation, he said it is projected to average 4.5 per cent in 2024-25 and 4.1 per cent in 2025-26. Consumer Price Index (CPI) based inflation fell below target during July-August but rose to 5.5 per cent in September on the back of a pickup in price momentum in some food items and adverse base effects inherent in year-on-year measurement. "Our projection indicates that these price pressures will persist in October and November before headline inflation realigns with the target from December 2024 and remains aligned in 2025-26," the deputy governor said. He also emphasised that India is emerging as a world leader in leveraging <keyword id="20181895" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-technologies" source="keywords">digital technologies</keyword> for transformative change.

India likely to grow at 7.2% in FY25, says RBI deputy governor

Pachocki, part of Business Insider's 2024 AI Power List, joined OpenAI in 2017 after completing a doctorate in computer science at Carnegie Mellon University. He was promoted to the company's chief scientist in May following the departure of its cofounder <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-happened-with-openai-2023-11">Ilya Sutskever</a>. Pachocki had already been working closely with Sutskever on some of OpenAI's most ambitious projects including an advanced-reasoning <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=266acfb353480a3e8f38a8daa1efc6122bbd4142aa338f61fe8217488541807e&amp;postID=66faf2b9d86164749857a486&amp;postSlug=jakub-pachocki-openai-ai-power-list-2024&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theinformation.com%2Farticles%2Fopenai-made-an-ai-breakthrough-before-altman-firing-stoking-excitement-and-concern%3Frc%3Dup6qfi">model known as Q*</a> and later <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=72b01f897d8526193b58a49c000b1b0d0b50a0f615eafbbcf0e87f2cb2b5f45f&amp;postID=66faf2b9d86164749857a486&amp;postSlug=jakub-pachocki-openai-ai-power-list-2024&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theinformation.com%2Farticles%2Fopenai-races-to-launch-strawberry-reasoning-ai-to-boost-chatbot-business%3Frc%3Dup6qfi">renamed Strawberry</a>. Even before officially taking on the mantle of chief scientist, Pachocki had already emerged as a guiding force behind OpenAI's research efforts. Sam Altman has <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/sama/status/1790518031640347056">called Pachocki</a> "easily one of the greatest minds of our generation."See Business Insider's full <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://businessinsider.com/ai-power-list-2024">AI Power List</a>

OpenAI chief scientist Jakub Pachocki leads AI project Strawberry

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Boeing has recorded another $250 million loss on its Starliner program.</li><li>New CEO Kelly Ortberg said Boeing will not walk away from its loss-making contracts.</li></ul>Aerospace manufacturer <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-corporate-culture-fix-executives-factory-floor-2024-10">Boeing</a> said on Wednesday that it was incurring an additional $250 million charge against earnings on its <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/starliner-stuck-space-threatens-boeing-plans-rival-elon-musk-spacex-2024-8">beleaguered Starliner program</a>.Boeing's Starliner spacecraft underwent a crewed flight test in June, during which it successfully docked at the International Space Station.However, issues with the Starliner's thrusters and helium leaks caused the eight-day mission to drag on. The Starliner eventually returned to Earth and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-starliner-spacecraft-returns-to-earth-without-nasa-astronauts-2024-9">landed in New Mexico</a> on September 6 without its crew members — NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.Wilmore and Williams are set to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-stranded-astronauts-return-nasa-boeing-starliner-spacex-crew-dragon-2024-8">make their return to Earth</a> in February 2025 on a SpaceX spacecraft instead.On Wednesday, Boeing said in its <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://s2.q4cdn.com/661678649/files/doc_financials/2024/q3/BA-Q3-2024-10Q.pdf">third-quarter earnings filing</a> to the SEC that it had "increased the reach-forward loss on the program" by $250 million to "reflect schedule delays and higher testing and certification costs."This is in addition to the $125 million charge against earnings Boeing recorded in the second quarter of this year. Boeing has lost $1.85 billion on the Starliner program to date.Boeing's newly minted CEO, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-new-ceo-kelly-ortberg-2024-7">Kelly Ortberg</a>, who took over the top job in August, did not comment directly on the Starliner program during an earnings call that took place on the same day. But Ortberg told analysts on Wednesday that there is "no magic bullet" for some of the "tough contracts" Boeing has entered into."We're going to have to work our way through some of those tough contracts," Ortberg said on Wednesday.When asked if Boeing would drop some of its loss-making contracts, Ortberg said it wasn't a "viable option" for the company."Even if we wanted to, I don't think we can walk away from these contracts," Ortberg said. "These are our core customers that need this capability."Representatives for Ortberg at Boeing didn't respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.The issues with Boeing's Starliner program are one of the many challenges Ortberg faces in trying to turn things around for the aerospace manufacturer.Boeing faced intense scrutiny in January after a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/passenger-alaska-airlines-flight-1282-portland-california-boeing-2024-1">door plug flew off</a> a Boeing 737 Max 9 during an Alaskan Airlines flight from Oregon to California.Several whistleblowers have since come forward to express concerns about how Boeing maintains its aircraft and handles <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-whistleblower-faulty-plane-parts-may-be-on-new-aircraft-2024-6">faulty plane parts</a>, according to a Senate subcommittee <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024.06.17-PSI-Majority-Staff-Memorandum.pdf">report</a> on Boeing's safety and quality practices.Boeing's workers have also been on strike since September 13, after workers demanded a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-workers-preparing-to-strike-rejected-contract-wage-increase-2024-9">40% pay hike</a>.The company has offered to increase wages by 25%, 30%, and 35%, but <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-workers-reject-latest-proposal-with-35-wage-hike-union-2024-10">workers have rejected</a> all three proposals.On Wednesday, Boeing reported a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-q3-results-earnings-loss-ceo-vows-iconic-again-2024-10">net loss of $6.1 billion</a> in the third quarter of 2024. It recorded a loss of more than $1.4 billion in the previous quarter.Boeing's shares are down nearly 40% year to date.

Boeing said it's lost another $250 million on the Starliner project

Since 2013, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a> has promised that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla">Tesla</a> will have a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnn.com/2013/09/18/business/tesla-self-drive-car/index.html">self-driving car</a>. To get there, the company has leaned on a specialized group of test drivers who are part of what's known internally as "Project Rodeo."Test drivers on Project Rodeo say they push the company's self-driving software to its limit. They work to bridge the gap between driver-assist software and fully autonomous driving. Operating on open streets with other vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians, they have tested unreleased software that will be crucial to Tesla's push into autonomous driving.Test drivers said they sometimes navigated perilous scenarios, particularly those drivers on Project Rodeo's "critical intervention" team, who say they're trained to wait as long as possible before taking over the car's controls. Tesla engineers say there's a reason for this: The longer the car continues to drive itself, the more data they have to work with. Experts in self-driving tech and safety say this type of approach could speed up the software's development but risks the safety of the test drivers and people on public roads."The idea is that you're a cowboy on a bull and you're just trying to hang on as long as you can," a former test driver who trained for the critical-intervention team in San Francisco said.Business Insider spoke with nine current and former Project Rodeo test drivers and three Autopilot engineers in states including California, Texas, and Florida. The drivers worked on training Tesla's Full Self-Driving software and its Autopilot software, which, despite the products' names, require a licensed driver at the wheel. Most asked to remain anonymous, citing a fear of professional reprisal, but their identities are known to Business Insider. Eight of the drivers described experiences that occurred over the past year, mostly between November and April.<div type="image" title="tesla cars in a parking lot" height="2827" width="4195" msid="114814069" hostid="261" sizebytes="1645262"></div>None of the test drivers who spoke with BI said they had been involved in a crash.Five who worked for the company in 2024 said they narrowly avoided collisions, including almost hitting a group of pedestrians. One former critical-intervention driver in Texas told BI that they sometimes ventured into their city's bar district late at night to see how Tesla's FSD software reacted to drunk patrons spilling out after last call. The former driver in San Francisco recalled riding around Stanford University during training, testing how close FSD would allow the vehicle to get to people at crosswalks before they had to take over. And a third critical-intervention driver said they allowed the car to speed through yellow lights and drive 35 mph under the speed limit on an expressway to avoid disengaging the system.A former Autopilot engineer told BI that while testing is done on open roads, Tesla runs hundreds of simulations and sometimes tests difficult scenarios on a closed course before rolling out new software to test drivers' vehicles.Tesla did not respond to a detailed list of questions about Project Rodeo and its self-driving technology.The test drivers' experiences highlight the balancing act Tesla and other automakers face as they prepare their self-driving software for widespread consumer use.Experts say public testing is crucial and can help identify safety issues before the technology hits the market. Missy Cummings, a former safety advisor for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said that while practices vary, she believes many autonomous-vehicle companies likely employ tactics similar to Tesla's."In theory, these drivers have gone through training, and eventually these cars do need to be able to operate in the public domain," Cummings said. She added that clearly marked vehicles could help the public better identify test drivers.Safety experts say fragmented and limited autonomous-vehicle regulations, coupled with self-reporting by automakers, create a complex environment where companies balance public safety with getting their products ready for commercial use."There are very few rules around autonomous testing and a lot of dependency on self-reporting," said Mark Rosekind, a former NHTSA administrator and chief safety innovation officer for Zoox, an Amazon-owned autonomous-taxi firm. "If companies aren't reporting, it's hard to know what's going on."In the past decade, authorities have investigated several automakers, including Tesla, Waymo, and Cruise, over crashes involving self-driving or driver-assist software.<div type="image" title="elon musk looks at a tesla" height="3488" width="4868" msid="114814075" hostid="261" sizebytes="1020846"></div>A lot depends on Tesla's promise of autonomous driving; Musk said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tesla-worth-basically-zero-without-self-driving-2022-6">in 2022</a> that self-driving was "really the difference between Tesla being worth a lot of money or worth basically zero." The Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas wrote in a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-robotaxi-release-date-elon-musk-stock-price-2024-9">note</a> last month that the company's future valuation was "highly dependent on its ability to develop, manufacture, and commercialize autonomous technologies." Tesla's stock fell by 10% on October 11, the day after the company's robotaxi event. <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/tesla-stock-price-q3-earnings-elon-musk-profit-margins-guidance-2024-10">It rebounded after Tesla reported earnings on October 23</a>, and it's up by more than 3% overall in the year to date.<h2 id="e24440fb-f024-4003-b2a2-7b4d055c8c7a">Inside the day-to-day of a Project Rodeo driver</h2>Tesla went on a hiring spree this year, bringing on test drivers in at least half a dozen US cities, a review of LinkedIn profiles suggests.A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-job-openings-seasonal-test-drivers-data-capture-2023-7">job listing from 2023</a> said test drivers needed a "clean driving record, safe driving habits, and a minimum of 4 years of licensed driving experiences." Eight drivers told BI that the onboarding process included two to three weeks of hands-on training, including test drives with a trainer in the passenger seat.According to employees and internal documents, one specialty within Project Rodeo works to replicate the job of a ride-hailing driver by picking random points on a map and driving between them. Those working on a different team, known as the "golden manual" team, drive manually, without any assistance, to train FSD software on what by-the-book, error-free driving looks like.Critical-intervention test drivers, who are among Project Rodeo's most experienced, let the software continue driving even after it makes a mistake. They're trained to stage "interventions" — taking manual control of the car — only to prevent a crash, said the three critical-intervention drivers and five other drivers familiar with the team's mission. Drivers on the team and internal documents say that cars rolled through red lights, swerved into other lanes, or failed to follow posted speed limits while FSD was engaged. The drivers said they allowed FSD to remain in control during these incidents because supervisors encouraged them to try to avoid taking over.The critical-intervention drivers recalled multiple instances where they felt unsafe but believed intervening could put their jobs at risk. The former driver in Texas recalled taking over only after FSD nearly rammed the car into the side of a vehicle stopped at an intersection.Non-critical-intervention drivers said they also felt pressure to push the system as far as possible. Five current and former employees said that they were instructed to intervene if they became uncomfortable with the software's behavior but that they sometimes received feedback from their supervisors if they were considered to have disengaged too early.John Bernal, a former test driver and data analyst at Tesla, said test drivers dealt with risky situations as far back as 2022. (Bernal was terminated that year; he said he was fired for sharing videos on his YouTube channel that showed his personal Tesla malfunctioning while using FSD.) He described instances where he broke traffic laws in order to collect data. Bernal said that his supervisors never instructed him to break the law but that he sometimes felt it was the only way to get the data the company wanted.He recalled one test in 2022 that was designed to see how well the system recognized a red light."My training was to wait until the wheels touched the white line before I could slam on the brakes," Bernal said. He said he sometimes ended up in the middle of the intersection if the system didn't work correctly.He also worked to train the autonomous software on "vulnerable road users" — defined by the Department of Transportation as pedestrians, bicyclists, people on scooters or in wheelchairs, or highway workers on foot — when he manually drove the "Ground Truth Machine," a Tesla outfitted with lidar and radar sensors to help the system map and identify objects."I'd drive over double lines to get close to a bike," Bernal said. "I would go obnoxiously slow through an alleyway where drunk people were, and I would be extremely rude and get really close to people."<div type="image" title="tesla showroom with autopilot posters" height="2939" width="4200" msid="114814073" hostid="261" sizebytes="255868"></div>Two years later, test drivers were asked to train the system near pedestrians, test drivers said. Five recalled a bug with FSD that made vehicles brake too early at crosswalks. To improve its performance, they were instructed to interact with pedestrians as frequently as possible.Sometimes, the drivers said, the software would slam on the brakes when no one was at the crosswalk; other times, it wouldn't stop at all. According to Tesla employees and internal documentation, FSD's performance depended heavily on its software version, and the versions appeared to operate at different levels of caution.The former San Francisco driver said that as they drove around Stanford University, their trainer, another test operator with more experience on the team, chastised them for braking too early. They recalled that at one point they came within three feet of hitting a bicyclist at a roundabout."I vividly remember this guy jumping off his bike. He was terrified," the driver told BI. "The car lunged at him, and all I could do was stomp on the brakes." They said the trainer was pleased by the incident. "He told me, 'That was perfect.' That was exactly what they wanted me to do."The driver added that "it felt like the goal was almost to simulate a hit-or-miss accident and then prevent it at the last second."The former Autopilot engineer said it was better for training to see whether the software could correct itself. They also said that not intervening when the car acted abnormally — including veering into another lane or doing something that confuses another driver — was important for training. Human motorists don't always drive rationally, they explained, and the software needs to know how to respond. It's also easier to parse the data if there are fewer driver interventions, they said."At the critical juncture where it's about to make the key decision," they said, it's helpful to see whether the software makes the right or wrong call. "We want the data to know what led the car to that decision," the engineer said. "If you keep intervening too early, we don't really get to the exact moment where we're like, OK, we understand what happened."<h2 id="52098605-f887-4702-a6ab-cf47e173ce28">A 'Wild West' with little regulation</h2>Tesla is one of many automakers attempting to make autonomous vehicles a reality. Waymo, backed by Alphabet, launched the first driverless taxi service in Phoenix in 2020."In many ways, it's like the Wild West out there," said Cummings, the former NHTSA safety advisor. "There is very little regulation around training or informing the public about testing."The stakes of data collection on public roads are high. In 2018, a self-driving Uber with a person behind the wheel struck and killed a pedestrian in Arizona. Cruise paused testing after one of its driverless vehicles hit a pedestrian in October 2023. Another vehicle had already hit the pedestrian when the Cruise car struck her, dragging her 20 feet before stopping. It <a target="_blank" href="https://www.getcruise.com/news/blog/2024/cruise-resumes-manual-driving-as-next-step-in-return-to-driverless-mission/">resumed testing</a> with safety drivers in some cities in May.<div type="image" title="waymo self driving taxi interior with pedestrians outside" height="4000" width="6000" msid="114814077" hostid="261" sizebytes="568560"></div>Two former Waymo employees said that they had a team similar to Tesla's critical-intervention team but that Waymo's version of critical-intervention testing was limited to closed tracks with dummies. Two former Cruise employees said that they had mapping teams and teams that tested on closed courses and public roads but that, unlike at Tesla, those teams were instructed to take over as soon as the software went off track, and they typically tested with at least two people in the car.A Waymo spokesperson said the company's safety framework included rigorous testing in controlled environments and on public roads. A Cruise spokesperson said the company's vehicles were designed as fully autonomous systems and were therefore fundamentally different from Tesla's driver-assistance technologies.Philip Koopman, an autonomous-driving expert at Carnegie Mellon University, said that Tesla's critical-intervention approach, as described to him by BI, was "irresponsible" and that the company should be playing out all "critical scenarios" on a closed course."By allowing the software to continue misbehaving to the point a test driver needs to avoid a crash, Tesla would be imposing a risk on other road users who have not agreed to serve as test subjects," Koopman said.Alex Roy, a general partner at NIVC and a former director of operations at the autonomous-driving startup Argo AI, said companies should be correcting the software as soon as it strays from the course, particularly on public roads."You should play those mistakes out in a simulation, not on an open road," Roy said. "Real-world testing is necessary, but real-world mistakes are not." The former Tesla engineer said they doubted that computer simulations are sophisticated enough to replicate the data generated by real-world driving. The former engineer said that, to help the software improve, it was best for test drivers to avoid intervening whenever possible."If you have a parent that's holding the bike the entire time, it never gets to learn," the engineer said.Test drivers on Project Rodeo felt this keenly."You're pretty much running on adrenaline the entire eight-hour shift," one former test driver in the Southwest said. "There's this feeling that you're on the edge of something going seriously wrong."Do you work for Tesla or have a tip? Reach out to the reporter via a non-work email and device at <a target="_blank" href="mailto:gkay@businessinsider.com">gkay@businessinsider.com</a> or <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="c-link">248-894-6012</a>.

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