On the other hand, I've had times while walking my dog across the street or through my apartment driveway and waymo's don't really slow down and do more of a faster pass right by us than I'd prefer, especially because a dog, like a child, can be pretty unpredictable.
I don't feel this way at all. I think you are reading it through the lens of your own personal feelings about Waymo.
I think the article is trying really hard to present a mix of positives and negatives, a "balanced" perspective. Things like talking about how some women feel safer without having to worry about a driver (positive), yet sharing a story of a woman who felt less safe from her fellow passenger because there was no driver (negative). Mentioning the story of the cat that was killed in SF (negative), but also mentioning that human drivers kill a great deal of cats too (positive, in a sense). And so on.
I can’t possibly imagine any bad stuff happening as a result of petabytes of frequent high resolution data being constantly captured in our communities!
Definitely no privacy concerns there, we love IoT connected sensors on all our vehicles! It’s not like anyone has ever used these incidental surveillance systems to target critical infrastructure or assassinate targets before, that would be crazy making. Anyway, I’m glad that Waymo constantly surveils it’s occupants too and snitches to the cops, that’s super chill.
This sums up a lot of what life is like these days alongside AI.
My very first time getting a Waymo, as soon as it got going it immediately tried to make a left turn out of a right lane. Then it decided to go 15mph down a 3-lane wide road with a 45mph speed limit for several miles. No warning beeps or anything, it just decided to do that for some reason.
I waited a few months before trying it again. This time I took it to the airport. It worked great... until it got to the airport and caused a traffic jam because it couldn't figure out how to complete a lane change in traffic. Embarrassing, for me and the car.
Waymo is bound to capture the imaginations of people who haven't seen these things before. They certainly made me smile the first time I saw one at the beginning of this year. But god help you if you actually use one.
But also the Waymos use alleys, driveways, and private parking lots that they're really not supposed to.
Always a bit embarrassing when the Waymo decides to use a space that's not meant for public use for pickup/dropoffs. One time, mine waited for me in/blocking a fast food drive-thru lane.
Sometimes it will be like 45 minutes to go somewhere 15 min away because it won’t take any highways.
now I better understand how the operators keep up with giving the cars directions from the command center, because they are semi-autonomous R/C cars that simply don't go fast enough that their handlers get overwhelmed directing a couple of them.
Every time I've taken a taxi in a group, the conversation ends when we get in and the driver is suddenly a part of our conversation. It's weird to have them sit there listening to your discussion but not participating, and it would be weird for them to participate. Inevitably the conversation turns to the mundane, questions about whether it's a busy day, how often do you drive in this part of town, etc.
I got a Waymo with friends and the conversation never missed a beat as we got into the car, rode for 15 minutes, and got out.
> For anyone of an immigrant background, the question of who they are talking to is absolutely no mystery. They are talking to us; their siblings, parents, cousins and friends. Sometimes the person on the end of the line is back home, other times they are in a western city also navigating the dislocations of immigrant life. The long phone call is a regular feature of diaspora lives, and even more so for those employed in long, solitary work such as cab driving.
I want high reliability driverless services we can rent for our own cars.
I want to fall asleep in the car with my family and dogs and wake up on the beach or in the mountains.
That'll be peak Americana.
Signed, a certified Waymo lover.
maybe they'll even ban human controlled cars, because they're more dangerous after all. you don't need to control your own destination. you have nothing to hide. right?
I always felt weird alone in a taxi – having someone serve you that directly in that way, particularly if you're sitting in the back seat, just feels a little uncomfortable. But in a Waymo it's just me.
and you should interact with the driver. it's good for you and cabbies are full of stories. and it's important not to forget about others labor. the labor still happens with waymo; the autonomous nature is half baked and you are absolutely still being watched, listened to, and served directly.
face your privilege directly. take a normal cab. this whole thread reeks of classism from out of touch tech workers in SF
That same story mentions another instance where some kids had alcohol and toy guns. So maybe there is AI that detects firearms? And then a human intervenes? Its not very clear.
Plus as per this article, the rider is way less likely to talk important business in front of the driver - hence Waymo being ideal.
Sounds like something out of Billions.
Then again I recently told a friend of mine to stop saying mean things about China because it might offend my car, soooo…