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I have mixed feelings on that video. The general bit-piece feel on self driving is not really deserved, IMO, and seems to be against self driving for the sake o

I have mixed feelings on that video. The general bit-piece feel on self driving is not really deserved, IMO, and seems to be against self driving for the sake of it. I think self driving will be a massive, massive boost to human productivity as it gets better, but we shouldn't use it as an excuse not to continue pursuing other means of transport. It doesn't really fix any of the scaling problems with car transport regardless.

rglullis 2y ago
> It doesn't really fix any of the scaling problems with car transport regardless. But the investors are not saying that, and they won't be around when everyone else gets stuck with the bill in the future. The key point of the video is less about AV itself, but the idea of betting on car-centric infrastructure. Did you see the part where Jason talks about the municipalities justifying cuts to investments in public transit because "people can just go ahead and take a uber anyway?"
- Panzer04 2y ago
  I agree with you - but slippery slope fallacy does not justify ignoring an innovative technology. Municipalities using it as an excuse to malinvest seems like a bit of a red herring to me - how many places actually did that? And honestly in some low-population towns it might well be the most sensible solution. Any large city though needs alternatives, and the fact that cars are kinda crap at mass transportation still isn't something that has hit most US cities even without self driving cars. They plow billions into expensive, inefficient highway infrastructure anyway.
  - rglullis 2y ago
    > And honestly in some low-population towns it might well be the most sensible solution. That is reversing the logic a bit. The reason that low-population towns don't get to develop their own robust economy is very correlated to its lack of in public transit and fast connections to larger centers. Politicians in the US keep talking about high speed rail and crazy projects, but a (relatively) easier to way to revitalize flyover states would be if they had "regular" passenger rail to connect with each other. Each station would become an opportunity to develop a local economic center, and each center that starts to grow would mean an opportunity for thousands of people to leave the big expensive coastal cities.

rglullis 2y ago

> It doesn't really fix any of the scaling problems with car transport regardless. But the investors are not saying that, and they won't be around when everyone else gets stuck with the bill in the future. The key point of the video is less about AV itself, but the idea of betting on car-centric infrastructure. Did you see the part where Jason talks about the municipalities justifying cuts to investments in public transit because "people can just go ahead and take a uber anyway?"

Panzer04 2y ago
I agree with you - but slippery slope fallacy does not justify ignoring an innovative technology. Municipalities using it as an excuse to malinvest seems like a bit of a red herring to me - how many places actually did that? And honestly in some low-population towns it might well be the most sensible solution. Any large city though needs alternatives, and the fact that cars are kinda crap at mass transportation still isn't something that has hit most US cities even without self driving cars. They plow billions into expensive, inefficient highway infrastructure anyway.
- rglullis 2y ago
  > And honestly in some low-population towns it might well be the most sensible solution. That is reversing the logic a bit. The reason that low-population towns don't get to develop their own robust economy is very correlated to its lack of in public transit and fast connections to larger centers. Politicians in the US keep talking about high speed rail and crazy projects, but a (relatively) easier to way to revitalize flyover states would be if they had "regular" passenger rail to connect with each other. Each station would become an opportunity to develop a local economic center, and each center that starts to grow would mean an opportunity for thousands of people to leave the big expensive coastal cities.