Axios

WASHINGTON — The SELF DRIVE Act could accelerate the expansion of driverless cars by providing a needed national regulatory framework, Rep. Erin Houchin (R-Ind.) said at an Axios Live event.

Why it matters: Autonomous vehicles could be a key part of the future of transportation, but the U.S. can't fully realize their potential — or compete globally — without consistent safety and design standards across state lines.

Axios' Nathan Bomey spoke with Houchin, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar president Doug Boles, and Consumer Technology Association president and CEO Kinsey Fabrizio. The Aug. 22 event was sponsored by Honda.

State of play: U.S. Transportation Secretary Scott Duffy said earlier this year that crafting an autonomous vehicle policy is a national security, economic and safety issue.

• The public and private sector are lining up to support emerging technologies.

What they're saying: "The roadway doesn't stop at the state line," said Houchin, who co-sponsored the bill.

• This "requires a federal framework because of interstate commerce issues," she added.
• The patchwork of state policies is "challenging. It's costly. It's confusing," Fabrizio said.
• "Companies need to know what [the rules] are, so that they can develop their products and their services around them," Fabrizio added.

Zoom in: The SELF DRIVE Act prioritizes safety standards, sets national thresholds for testing and deploying autonomous vehicles and addresses cybersecurity concerns. However, it leaves licensing and registration to the states.

• If the bill doesn't pass by December, "we're going to bring it right back up again in the 120th Congress," Houchin said.

Meanwhile, Boles sees great potential for emerging technologies in car racing.

• "I see those becoming tools that help inform drivers of what's going on, help them make smarter decisions," he said.

Content from the sponsor's segment:

In a View From the Top conversation, Honda executive vice president Noriya Kaihara highlighted the company's decades of investment in the U.S.

• "We build the product here in America because our policy is that [we] manufacture where there is the demand. So that means: build the products where the customers are … and now we have 12 plants in America."

Go deeper: Watch the full conversations.

Meta's landmark settlement over claims its products harmed children underscores years of congressional deadlock over kids' online safety legislation.

Why it matters: The settlement will force Meta to make changes to its products and pay billions after Congress repeatedly failed to pass federal rules to protect children online.

The drone-delivery race is taking off, setting up a real-world test of which flying machines people will tolerate buzzing around their neighborhoods.

Why it matters: Amazon, Wing and Zipline are taking dramatically different engineering approaches to drone delivery — differences that will determine how much they can carry, where they can put your package and, perhaps most importantly, how much you'll hear them.

Apple on Wednesday sent invitations for a Sept. 9 event where the company is expected to unveil its first foldable iPhone and other new products.

Why it matters: The launch will be the first major Apple event under incoming CEO John Ternus, who takes over from Tim Cook next Tuesday.

The Trump administration has struck data-sharing deals with major technology firms to help track how AI is affecting jobs and hiring, acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling told Axios.

Why it matters: AI could reshape the labor market faster than traditional government statistics can capture it. That could make it difficult for economic policymakers to see major shifts in jobs and hiring in real time.

The chair of a key Senate Judiciary subcommittee is launching an investigation into Flock Safety's "collection, retention, and dissemination of the data" from its AI-powered surveillance cameras, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: The probe represents the highest level of backlash to date towards Flock cameras, which have rapidly evolved from the target of local governments and activists to a major national political issue.

Google is launching new tools to help businesses control their AI bills, as the tech giant sees an opening to compete on one of the biggest obstacles to widespread corporate AI adoption: cost.

The big picture: Google sees a second AI market opening up around offering cheaper and more governable access to AI, while insisting it's still competing on frontier model offerings.

A new report underscores two truths about U.S. plans for gas-fired power plants: the numbers are stunning, yet stunningly speculative.

Why it matters: The AI boom is driving proposals for massive projects to supply data centers and other needs.

Nvidia snapped a seven-day losing streak in the stock market on Tuesday, but its mini slump in August has called attention to questions over the AI darling's growth trajectory.

Why it matters: Nvidia is trying to use its massive pile of capital to keep the good times rolling — through a wide assortment of investments and capital deals — while continuing to feed the growing chip needs of the AI hyperscalers.

Rolls-Royce will this week mark the completion of a $1 billion investment in Indiana, where the company has expanded and renovated its manufacturing, assembly and test facilities.

The big picture: The overhaul competitively positions Rolls-Royce amid wartime-production messaging from the Pentagon and a growing portfolio of projects, including propulsion for the Army's MV-75, the Air Force's B-52J and the Navy's MQ-25A.

• "If you go back to 2014, we knew that we were at an inflection point. We had aging facilities, some dating back to World War II," Adam Riddle, president of Rolls-Royce Defense, told Axios.