Well the context was a massively subsidized system that is years away from being reliable, will take well over a decade to roll out, has large negative external

Well the context was a massively subsidized system that is years away from being reliable, will take well over a decade to roll out, has large negative externalities, requires giving up numerous freedoms, and may not ever work, for solving the same problem trains solve but worse. The amount of public resources going into roads between now and when driver monitoring makes a difference is staggering, and we could just spend that money on transit and solve numerous other problems at the same time. Responding to a (admittedly snarky) suggestion that we steer towards an egalitarian future rather than a panopticon when both are equidistant with a tautilogical assertion that we're not in the good future now is the same tired line that comes out anytime anyone suggests improving things rather than expending greater resources making them worse.