Do you care about robo taxis?

[lightbulb27]

Would you take one? Why do you care vs having a person drive you?

I'm trying to figure out... why does anyone really care about robots driving cars. Are we that lazy and dangerous? Frankly, I'd be concerned about the mess the last customer left in a car given there is no person there to monitor them.

[Anonymous]

I posted a question about ZOOX. Which is another company creating a robotaxi. And here's my take on it.

My mother is in her 80's and getting to the point where she probably shouldn't be driving. Unfortunately driving is pretty much a necessity in America. And unless you live in an urban environment mass transit is limited if even an option. This is where robo taxi's would be invaluable. Because seniors still need to get around. They still have dr.'s apps etc.

Problem is with fixed incomes. Many elderly people are priced out of Uber's and robo taxi's are still too costly. From what I understand Zoox works on a subscription. And from what I understand they expect the price to fall to eventually to 25 dollars a month or so as they expand and it becomes more cost effective. So your elderly loved ones could pay a flat fee and use it as much or as little as they need to. And the design makes it easy to get in and get out of. It's like thier own personal carriage.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/3r7PEl0tMSk

[RavVid]

I think this is a great leap forward in public transport. With public transport the last 5 miles is the killer.

My work office shifted to out in the burbs. There were three train lines that could get me to 5 miles of the office. Usually got a train within a couple of mins because of the three lines and the journey was quick - about 20 mins. the last 5 miles had to by bus. Was at least 30 mins.

With lots of robo taxis not having to support a human's need for beer. It has great capacity to make public transport far more viable.

The best public transport system I have seen was in Vanuatu. Bongo vans constantly circulating. You hopped told the driver were you were going and he would drop you at the door. With robo taxis/mini buses we could have something as good as Vanuatu and finally catch up.

[wynning]

There are lots of fair reasons why there are people who are against it but I think, if I'm just being idealistic, the cost (for the riders) to benefit ratio could be decent if the robos drive with a... caution-first? approach.
Granted, I might be looking at it through rose coloured glasses because the more I learned and still learn about about how it works, the more I came to appreciate how much effort and thought goes into it with every iteration and improvement. It has its own unique challenges.

[lightbulb27]

i wonder whom is insuring those 'drivers'?

[wynning]

One of the challenges for sure. I'd have assumed the owner of the car would have to get insurance in their name for the car, if it's a taxi company they probably do it differently

[FreyaRed]

https://www.youtube.com/embed/yueCu8z7l4g

Remembers me as I wanted to release parking brake in an Audi Q8 and I did it too fast after putting the key in start slot. You have to wait at least 5 seconds and than at least 5 second to push the start button. I'm sure if someone tries to get in your car, 10 seconds is a lot of time.

Software made by stupid people behaves stupidly.

[lightbulb27]

classic johnny cab!

[lightbulb27]

It's all part of the process of stripping you of your wealth:)

[goaded]

Why would anyone trust autonomous cars in a country that doesn't even require their trains to carry decades-old braking technology?

I was thinking how cool it would be for small, independent vehicles, like Smart cars that could join together into convoys and split off near their destination. The last car would break at the instant the first did, to avoid pile-ups. Then I thought of East Palestine and the fact that it probably wouldn't have happened if there had been the kind of regulations that required even late-20th century solutions.

[goaded]

*brake.

[MisterWack]

It will replace human jobs and I believe human life is more valuable than any robot or machine so, I advocate against this.

I have seen driverless truck companies wanting to replace good American truckers’ jobs with driverless operations.

I believe instead of acting like “you are irreplaceable”, you start standing up in solidarity and uniting with your fellow blue collar workers because if you don’t stand up now, you may regret it when they come for your job next.

[lightbulb27]

tend to agree with you. I think somehow, the cost of AI needs factored into the the equation so the human can compete. otherwise, we are subsidizing our replacement, very stupid... unless we really think there is something much better truck drivers... or others... can do with their time.

[MisterWack]

@lightbulb27 Well companies would love taxis, trucks, etc. to be AI and driverless since they will always be on time, always efficient with their fuel, not accidentally mess up which costs time and money, to be as efficient / peak total perfection also without the downfall of humans falling sick, injured, etc. needing to be paid for their honest work and all…. Corporations strive for efficiency and cost effective business practice, especially when you cut out human needs you don’t need to worry about striking which also puts a dent in their greed.
I know that one AI replacement can become another, stopping it before the domino effect spirals into your skill level / profession you genuinely care about is a logical fear. The Twilight Zone old series predicted this twice in two episodes (two different aspects taken into consideration) and it dawned on me now.

[Lliam]

I wouldn't ride in one.
I hate AI anything. And I don't trust it. I want to be able to interact with a human being. I want to be able to thank someone and reward them for doing a good job, or report them if they are a complete ass hole.
Plus, I don't want to put taxi drivers out of work. I want people to have job opportunities and not be replaced by fucking robots.

I'm not even sure if I would trust my safety to a driverless car.

[lightbulb27]

it seems no advantage. if they make a price advantage... they'd better include the cost of the AI and energy to produce it. That will make the human more competitive. As it is, noone is paying for AI yet... how is that possible?

[andreasderjuengere]

If you knew Thailand's taxi drivers, you might have a different opinion :D
An AI will not rip you off with four times the meter price, because you forgot to ask this price in advance.
I see your concerns... my suggestion here: each 'lost job' could be replaced by a related additional job. These AI need maintenance, service, programming and such.

[lightbulb27]

@andreasderjuengere maybe but I never had a problem in thailand, and those people aren't paid much... they are poor. maybe they should be paid better

[bingbongbangbung]

If you use any website or app with recommendation algorithms, then it probably uses AI

[lightbulb27]

@bingbongbangbung that's a bummer. What I want, and maybe you can invent. Is a "cost meter". For every search or AI, a cost pops up for energy/envrionmental and maybe a $ cost.
Do that, and this whole ball of crap collapses as people realize how expensive it is to make an artificial inefficient brain. maybe once it's programmed it's not too pricy, but that cost has to be built into the robotaxi driver.

[DangerouslyCute]

I will wait for the proper legislation first

and then for the statistics about accidents and other events

AI needs an iterative process of enhancing data and conclusions so... I would wait :D

[lightbulb27]

I wonder what will be like driving around these things, and how good they are at avoiding accidents. we will find out.

[Genie23]

I wouldn't sit in one. 😧 Nuh uh! No one could make me go in that thing that could end up malfunctioning, experiencing software glitches or it could be hijacked... etc. I don't want to die in an accident.

[lightbulb27]

What if it was more like this vehicle where you sit in the back, no way you'd get trapped inside a burning tesla... much safer, and more fresh air.

[Genie23]

That sounds much safer but if it starts speeding, I would jump and get some injuries. I'd try to avoid sitting in one unless the normal taxis are unavailable 😅

[Syntosi]

Yes, we are that lazy and dangerous. Statistically speaking humans are terrible drivers. As for things such as keeping clean or whatnot, that is a service issue that can be resolved.

That said, Elon Musk has not shown himself to be particularly trustworthy in the development of automated driving and "robotaxi" so he is definitely the wrong guy for the job.

[purplepoppy]

My concern is these things will be programed to drive ultra cautiously to avoid accidents. They'll move at well under the speedlight, brake more than they need too, and look for a far bigger gap at junctions than normal.

These things are just going to hold up traffic worse than a short sighted 80 year old learner driver.

[purplepoppy]

Were they on actual roads with real traffic?

[andreasderjuengere]

I think... an AI can be programmed to have a competitive racing spirit. It could be fun.
Just get the right-minded programmers.

[alli-112]

Dislike Musk so I wouldn't use the product on principle, but otherwise I'm vaguely ambivalent. Technology will advance whether we like it or not, but I probably still be driving myself, especially since it's currently way safer.

[Chazmatazz269]

😂😂😂

[AviatorTom]

Good point about the potential mess.

I personally prefer a taxi with a human driver.

[andreasderjuengere]

When it's one of Muck's Tesla's, then I would not trust them to deliver what was promised. I'd rather walk through an empty tunnel in Vegas.

[Filthy_Immigrant]

yeah, I can't wait to take one and not paid it so if it insist I can say

"sue me dickhead!"

https://www.youtube.com/embed/vB84Yn5uALY

[NathanDavis]

have they mentioned any rate or price for those rides...

[Babygirl_S]

They should learn to be decent humans before developing robots.

[Anonymous]

not interested. robots can go f*ck themselves!

[DrPepper12]

It's all good. Behave or get banned. I'd do it

[Gwendoline]

No I don't trust them.

[Anonymous]

Christine showed us why self driving cars are terrifying

[Snakeyes7]

The taxi mafias would not like it and I will laugh and say FAFO.

[exitseven]

I will wait a little while on this one.

[Anonymous]

Not really, I rarely use taxi.

[MannMitAntworten]

Everything is in walking distance where I live.

[ambitious_male]

I do invest in it.