USA Today - 11.11.2019

E3 USA TODAY z MONDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2019 z SECTION B

Black News Channel to launch

Service aims for Jan. 6 debut. 2B

Coca-Cola to enter new waters

Sparkling water with caffeine on the way. 2B

Across the nation

News from every state. 4B

IN MONEY

STATES

BLACK NEWS CHANNEL

Biggest large-cap stock price

increases (by percentage) for

week ending Nov. 8.

Ubiquiti Inc .................................43.8%

DexCom Inc ................................25.9%

DaVita Inc ....................................17.3%

Xerox Holdings Corp ................16.0%

Insulet Corp ................................15.7%

Westlake Chemical....................13.6%

Qualcomm Inc ............................12.5%

Discovery Inc C...........................12.3%

CenturyLink Inc ..........................11.0%

Gen Electric .................................11.0%

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Top movers

USA TODAY SNAPSHOTS ©

You: “Alexa, I’m lonely.”
Amazon Alexa: “Sorry to hear that.
Talking to a friend, listening to music
or taking a walk might help. I hope you
feel better soon.”
Alexa’s artificial intelligence-in-
fused heart may be in the right place,
but there’s only so far it or any AI can
go to comfort someone who is alone.
All the same, Alexa’s response
raises questions about just what kind
of role an AI can play to “cure” loneli-
ness, especially among the elderly.
Loneliness has been identified as a
leading cause of depression among
people older than 65.
We’ve heard for years about the po-
tential of companion robots to keep
older people, but really anybody, com-
pany. But AI need not take the form of a
physical robot. As we communicate
more often with Alexa and the Google
Assistant, could anyone really blame
us for thinking of them, too, as
“friends?”
While robots still aren’t prancing
around most living rooms, beyond the
occasional Roomba, we are increas-
ingly forming some kind of bond with

Bots may

be ‘cure’ for

the lonely

AI makes strides but

can’t replace humans

Edward C. Baig
USA TODAY

See LONELY, Page 2B

About six years ago, Mary Barra was

appointed CEO of General Motors, be-

coming the first woman to lead a major

global automaker and raising hopes

that the male-dominated industry was

embarking on a new era of diversity in

its executive ranks.

That hasn’t happened.

The auto industry, as a whole, re-

mains a boys’ club in the upper eche-

lons despite Barra’s success at GM,

where she’s widely credited with

boosting profits and beating many ri-

vals on self-driv-

ing car technol-

ogy.

Julie Hamp, an

auto industry vet-

eran who has

worked in execu-

tive communica-

tion roles for GM

and Toyota, said

the industry

hasn’t done

enough to em-

brace women in

leadership.

“It’s an indus-

try that really

needs to take the

rationale of good

business sense

for having women

at the top into

consideration,

and I just ques-

tion if they do,”

Hamp said. “It’s

hugely important,

and they need to really recognize this

importance.”

Of the 11 major automakers that pro-

vided data to USA TODAY, none had

women in more than 23% of their U.S.

vice president-or-higher positions as

of the end of the second quarter.

Two – Hyundai and Kia, which are

part of the same parent company – had

zero.

With the exception of GM, where six

of 11 global board members are women,

none had women in more than 35% of

their board director positions. At a ma-

jority of the 11 automakers surveyed by

USA TODAY – Fiat Chrysler, Nissan,

Honda, Hyundai-Kia, Jaguar Land Rov-

er and Toyota – more than4 in 5 board

members were men.

It’s a misstep of corporate leadership,

according to research demonstrating

that companies with women on boards

and at the top ranks of their companies

are more successful than businesses

where men dominate.

“All the research and the data shows

that companies that have more diverse

and inclusive organizations are more

competitive and get better results,” said

Lorraine Hariton, CEO of Catalyst, a non-

profit that advocates for women in the

workplace.

Advocates for gender diversity say it’s

simply the right thing to do – yet also

that companies are compromising their

own earning power by failing to include

more women on boards and in top lead-

ership positions.

“That means that we are going to stop

innovating and growing,” said Sheryl

O’Loughlin, co-founder of the Justice

Equity Diversity Inclusion (JEDI) Collab-

orativewho advocates for women in di-

rector roles. “We cannot empathize with

our consumers and customers if we can’t

walk in their shoes because we know

nothing about their lives.”

Understanding the transportation

priorities of women is crucial for the suc-

cess of automakers, especially because

women are extremely influential in the

car-buying process. More than 60% of

women are “the sole decision-maker

when it comes to purchasing their next

car,” and they tend to focus more on

The auto industry still

is a boys’ club at the top

Data: More than 23% of

exec ranks lack women

General Motors Chairman and CEO Mary Barra says she asks for “a diverse slate”

whenever she’s considering someone for a leadership role.STEVE FECHTFOR GM

Dhivya Suryadevara is the first female

chief financial officer at General

Motors.JOHN F. MARTIN FOR GENERAL MOTORS

Nathan Bomey

USA TODAY

“We cannot

empathize

with our ...

customers if

we can’t

walk in their

shoes

because we

know

nothing

about their

lives.”

Sheryl

O’Loughlin

The Justice Equity

Diversity Inclusion

Collaborative

See WOMEN, Page 2B

A red laser slices through the air, landing on
the top of an Amazon Echo sitting inside a house.
Suddenly, the garage door opens, a burglar slides
in, uses another laser to have the Echo start the
car and drives off.
Sound far-fetched? It’s not anymore.
Researchers from the University of Michigan
have used lasers to exploit a variety of voice-ac-
tivated devices, giving them access to every-
thing from thermostats to garage door openers to
door locks. The researchers have communicated
their findings to Amazon, Google and Apple.
The researchers discovered the microphones
in the smart devices would respond to light as if
it were sound. The attack can be mounted using
a simple laser pointer, a laser driver and a sound
amplifier, researchers said on the website.
So how does it work?
“Microphones convert sound into electrical
signals,” the research says. “The main discovery
behind light commands is that in addition to
sound, microphones also react to light aimed di-
rectly at them. Thus, by modulating an electrical

signal in the intensity of a light beam, attackers

can trick microphones into producing electrical

signals as if they are receiving genuine audio.”

In other words, the microphone reacts to the

intensity of the laser light the same way it reacts

Researchers find lasers can

hack voice-activated devices

David JesseDetroit Free Press
USA TODAY NETWORK

Amazon Echo and other voice-activated

devices can be vulnerable to lasers.

AP FILE PHOTO/ELAINE THOMPSON

SeeLASER HACK, Page 2B

REMEMBER

andberemembered

Start your LifeTime Private Autobiography today!

LIMITED

TIME OFFER*:

Free 1 hour

audio and

photos of your

loved one

Give the gift of a lifetime this holiday season!

Apresent they’ll never forget!

Call 1.855.230.8562 today

or visit PrivateAutobiography.com

EVERY LIFE IS A STORY WORTH SHARING.

*Offer expires 01/31/2020.

It’s easy to

get started!

Every life is a story worth sharing. Capture

your memories, or those of someone you

love in a LifeTime Private Autobiography.

Our team will work with you or your loved

one to create a priceless autobiography.

Imagine...your story in print, with your own

photos, to be shared for generations to come.