Two more San Francisco supervisors said on Wednesday that they, too, received threats in the mail referencing an online rant by Garry Tan, the CEO of startup incubator Y Combinator […]

More SF supes receive threats referencing Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan’s posts

Following Garry Tan’s seemingly alcohol-fueled rant over the weekend, in which he wrote on social media that seven progressive San Francisco supervisors should “die slow,” tech workers in San Francisco […]

‘Stupid,’ ‘shameful:’ Tech workers on Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan’s rant

Three San Francisco supervisors received a threatening letter at their homes on Tuesday, and two more filed police reports after Garry Tan, the CEO of Y Combinator and a heavy […]

Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan’s online rant spurs threats to supes, police reports

Garry Tan, the CEO of startup accelerator Y Combinator and a deep-pocketed donor to moderate politics in San Francisco, seemingly wished a slow death for seven supervisors last night in […]

Garry Tan, tech CEO & campaign donor, wishes death upon San Francisco politicians

If you see a man photographing San Francisco’s garbage, it’s probably Emin Israfil. Israfil has spent six years trying to use technology to make streets cleaner: Photographing sidewalk garbage, describing […]

Stuck in the trash for six years, AI could change developer Israfil’s life

If you want reporters on the ground, please consider supporting Mission Local today – your tax-deductable donations are matched dollar for dollar up to $1,000. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s ouster today from […]

AI community dumbfounded by OpenAI’s ouster of CEO Sam Altman 

Artificial intelligence enthusiasts — mostly young startup founders — have arrived in San Francisco over the past year, reveling in the abundance of money, information, and connections. And, they find […]

For the city’s new AI founders, it’s all work and little play

On the second day of a civic hackathon this past weekend, where more than 100 tech workers gathered to create “AI solutions” to San Francisco’s issues, a winner emerged: An […]

Day 2: 311 chatbot wins AI for good hackathon

At a 48-hour AI social event that began on Saturday, some 100 tech industry workers set out to use artificial intelligence to improve San Francisco’s stubborn issues: Homelessness, housing, car […]

Day 1: An AI for good hackathon tackles SF’s problems

Silvia Ramirez sent children to Harvard, Princeton and Brown universities, where they continued their careers in research and tech. Meanwhile, she said, “I stayed back in time.” On Friday afternoon […]

Mission seniors, armed with free iPads, bridge the digital divide

Some 100 people gathered for a Halloween-themed dance party in the Mission District on Saturday. While some moved their bodies to the EDM, half of the participants were obsessed with […]

Photos: San Francisco’s ‘algorave,’ where people dance to code

The “doom loop” of drugs and homelessness that has purportedly swept over San Francisco is not affecting one group: Artificial intelligence enthusiasts — largely well-educated, young entrepreneurs — who began […]

AI founders head west to SF, and find a city awash in connections, ideas and funding

On Tuesday, the California Department of Motor Vehicles abruptly rescinded autonomous vehicle company Cruise’s license to operate driverless cars in San Francisco, “effective immediately.” This, to borrow Joe Biden’s inelegant […]

SF officials knew weeks ago that Cruise vehicle dragged woman

The state Department of Motor Vehicles today, via a terse statement, announced it is suspending the license for Cruise to operate driverless vehicles, “effective immediately.” Today’s move comes on the […]

Cruise robotaxis grounded by DMV — ‘effective immediately’

Autonomous vehicles never speed, drive while intoxicated, nor text-and-drive, which gives them the potential to make vehicle transportation safer and more accessible. But seven experts say this high-tech solution to […]

Robo-cars could further clog traffic, experts say

You’re not going to believe this, but the businesses on San Francisco’s Industrial Street tend to be — wait for it — industrial.  There’s lighting and tile design and auto body […]

Cruise wanted to put a hydrogen tank 215 feet from a school. What could’ve gone wrong?

With all the talk of artificial intelligence swallowing the world, a group of San Francisco scientists have finally discovered a real-world application: Detecting malaria, a deadly disease that claims more […]

SF scientists use AI to help fight malaria

Emerging from the bean bags and low-level lights, a young man rose to introduce his new coding project: A Google Chrome extension capable of sorting through AI-related event pages to […]

AI map: Where the young and restless driving the AI boom hang out

Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt said publicly today that San Francisco has proved to be “one of the most challenging markets in the country,” and that the company is “influenced heavily […]

Cruise CEO says SF should be ‘rolling out the red carpet’

San Francisco public school teachers are dipping their toes into the city’s newest industry: artificial intelligence, which has spawned popular tools used by educators in teaching, grading and creating lessons.  […]

SF teachers cautiously, optimistically experiment with AI

While artificial intelligence evangelists promise to save the world, two local AI enthusiasts have narrowed their focus: Save San Francisco. That is the clarion call two twenty-something techies are making […]

AI for good? Two techies host hackathons for SF’s problems.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles today requested that Cruise halve its fleet of driverless cars in San Francisco, following “concerning incidents” involving the vehicles. According to a statement released […]

DMV asks Cruise to halve its driverless fleet, citing ‘concerning incidents’

As regular as the tides, the flood of tech-industry workers arrives at the rock climbing gym at Mission Cliffs every weekday at 5 p.m., peaking at 6 and ebbing at […]

Dangling in the air at Mission Cliffs, techies find community

The spectacles of a driverless car placing itself between firefighters and a burning car, another blockading fire rigs on a narrow San Francisco street, and yet another inducing a traffic […]

Driverless cars won the day. What comes next? Plugging them in — and fighting.

Following six-and-a-half hours of public comment, the California Public Utilities Commission decided this evening to give both Cruise and Waymo unfettered access to San Francisco streets for their driverless cars. […]

Cruise, Waymo win green light for robo-taxis across San Francisco

On the eve of the vote to allow unfettered access to San Francisco for driverless car companies, the San Francisco Fire Department has generated some 55 “Unusual Occurrence” reports documenting […]

Explore: See the 55 reports — so far — of robot cars interfering with SF fire dept.

Three days prior to a pivotal Aug. 10 vote on whether autonomous vehicle companies can charge passengers for all rides at all times in San Francisco, firefighters and police officers […]

SF cops, firefighters vent before big vote on driverless car expansion

A generation ago, if you saw someone using an iPhone, you pointed and stared: Hey look! An iPhone! They were a novelty. But then they became ubiquitous. And, then, beyond […]

‘Blanket the city:’ CEO says SF can handle 10x more Cruise driverless vehicles

Half a year into the artificial intelligence boom, the creators embracing AI art in San Francisco’s Mission District generally have a tech background.  “I’m here for it,” said Ashley Herr, […]

AI art, a refuge for techies

Leer en español The scissors are six inches long, with blue plastic handles, just like a pair Target might sell for $9.99. They can easily go unnoticed by passengers. But […]

Uber drivers, fearing danger, drive armed

Leer en español Some 124,000 San Francisco households are eligible for free or low-cost home internet from the federal government, yet only 26 percent of eligible households currently receive it.  […]

SF residents should apply for low-cost internet, city says