SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET: 

MACHINES OVER MAN – FROM REUTERS:  Most buyers prefer to be left alone as they shop in store for items like apparel and prefer to use in-store technology for customer service over personalized attention from store employees, according to a new study.  The findings are based on a shopper survey conducted by HRC Retail Advisory and highlights the challenges retail chains increasingly face as they try to find the right balance between staffing and technology in stores.  For example, about 85 percent of those surveyed want to be able to check prices at price scanners instead of having to ask a store employee for pricing information. Seventy six percent of overall respondents rated an in-store app that will provide personal recommendations as important.  I think this was inevitable.  The technology is faster and never discourteous.  More jobs will disappear.  I'd imagine robots will be escorting us through stores in the next decade.

THIS WAS BOUND TO HAPPEN – FROM BLOOMBERG:  Uber Technologies Inc. halted autonomous vehicle tests after one of its cars struck and killed a woman in Tempe, Arizona, in what is likely the first pedestrian fatality involving the technology.  The 49-year-old woman, Elaine Herzberg, was crossing the road outside of a crosswalk when the Uber vehicle operating in autonomous mode under the supervision of a human safety driver struck her, according to the Tempe Police Department.  After the incident, which happened at 10 p.m. local time on Sunday, she was transferred to a nearby hospital, where she died from her injuries. "Uber is assisting and this is still an active investigation," Liliana Duran, a Tempe police spokeswoman, said in an emailed statement.  There are going to be these tragedies, but most experts on robotics believe that roads will be dramatically safer once the human element is taken out of driving.  The self-driving car wasn't out drinking last night.

GREAT MOMENTS IN POLITICS – FROM FOX:   Former "Sex and the City" star Cynthia Nixon said on Twitter Monday that she'll challenge Gov. Andrew Cuomo in New York's Democratic primary in September.  Her announcement sets up a race pitting an openly gay liberal activist against a two-term incumbent with a $30 million war chest and possible presidential ambitions.  In a video on Twitter, the public education advocate said, "We want our government to work again."  Nixon in recent speeches has called on Democrats nationally to carve out a strong liberal identity instead of being merely the "anti-Trump party."  Look, she may give Andy Cuomo a run for his money.  And, of course, the Republican Party in New York is nowhere to be seen.  They concede elections before they're held.

March 19, 2018