4 ms·

Lots of people, myself included, pay a premium to not have a human at the steering wheel; it's nice to have the car to yourself.

paxys 1y ago
Yourself and three dozen recording devices and call centers full of people tracking the car and reviewing the footage, yes.
- OkayPhysicist 1y ago
  To be fair, Waymo claims to not record or transmit audio without you either manually engaging such (by requesting support), or a very unambiguous announcement (presumably when the car gets into some sort of emergency situation). And lying about that claim would probably run afoul of California's 2 party consent law. So still a step up in privacy versus having someone in the car listening in on your conversation. That said, even if they were listening to you, there's a lot of things that are completely inconsequential from a perspective of an anonymous call center employee far away listening in on, that I probably wouldn't want to talk about in front of a taxi driver.
- mystifyingpoi 1y ago
  I still count that as a win.
- blinding-streak 1y ago
  I know this is somewhat besides the point of the discussion, but.. many Ubers have recording devices inside the car too. The drivers have gotten savvy and protect themselves from false claims or even harassment.
- jen20 1y ago
  Given the number of dash-cams in human-driven Ubers now, that's not a substantial downgrade.
octo888 1y ago
Like, the driver's presence bothers you? Even if they don't talk?
- harmmonica 1y ago
  This is just me, but maybe helps explain it. It's not that the presence of a driver is bothersome, but in the pre-Waymo world your interaction with the outside world starts when you step out the door of your house. Now the interaction with the outside world starts when you get to your destination and step out of the Waymo. I really enjoy the outside world, mind you. But it just feels easier to traverse my local area in solitude and with a consistent and comfortable vehicle, and non-erratic driving style. I imagine how nice it could (will?) be when you can hop into a self-driving car for a longer ride or even a road trip. I think you'll feel like it's an extension of your living room vs. being in a car.
  - octo888 1y ago
    Christ that's depressing. A 'perfect' world where we never interact with anyone. We need to stop normalising mental diseases
    - harmmonica 1y ago
      If you step back do you really think that's indicative of a mental disease? Does it make any difference to you that many times I'm taking a Waymo to go and hang out with friends? Not much of a stretch to say it's allowing me to socialize more because I don't have to worry about my meter running dry, or having one too many drinks to drive myself home, or being able to move around from area to area in comfort. And if you say "you can do that with an Uber too!" it's true! But does it really surprise you that someone would want a car that drives calmly, obeys all traffic laws and gives you a little downtime from the outside world pre or post the activity you'd been doing before stepping in the car? Does that really rise to the level of mental disease? It seems like a huge catastrophizing stretch to get there based solely on preferring to be in a Waymo rather than a taxi or Uber. edit: grammar

paxys 1y ago

Yourself and three dozen recording devices and call centers full of people tracking the car and reviewing the footage, yes.

OkayPhysicist 1y ago
To be fair, Waymo claims to not record or transmit audio without you either manually engaging such (by requesting support), or a very unambiguous announcement (presumably when the car gets into some sort of emergency situation). And lying about that claim would probably run afoul of California's 2 party consent law. So still a step up in privacy versus having someone in the car listening in on your conversation. That said, even if they were listening to you, there's a lot of things that are completely inconsequential from a perspective of an anonymous call center employee far away listening in on, that I probably wouldn't want to talk about in front of a taxi driver.
mystifyingpoi 1y ago
I still count that as a win.
blinding-streak 1y ago
I know this is somewhat besides the point of the discussion, but.. many Ubers have recording devices inside the car too. The drivers have gotten savvy and protect themselves from false claims or even harassment.
jen20 1y ago
Given the number of dash-cams in human-driven Ubers now, that's not a substantial downgrade.

octo888 1y ago

Like, the driver's presence bothers you? Even if they don't talk?

harmmonica 1y ago
This is just me, but maybe helps explain it. It's not that the presence of a driver is bothersome, but in the pre-Waymo world your interaction with the outside world starts when you step out the door of your house. Now the interaction with the outside world starts when you get to your destination and step out of the Waymo. I really enjoy the outside world, mind you. But it just feels easier to traverse my local area in solitude and with a consistent and comfortable vehicle, and non-erratic driving style. I imagine how nice it could (will?) be when you can hop into a self-driving car for a longer ride or even a road trip. I think you'll feel like it's an extension of your living room vs. being in a car.
- octo888 1y ago
  Christ that's depressing. A 'perfect' world where we never interact with anyone. We need to stop normalising mental diseases
  - harmmonica 1y ago
    If you step back do you really think that's indicative of a mental disease? Does it make any difference to you that many times I'm taking a Waymo to go and hang out with friends? Not much of a stretch to say it's allowing me to socialize more because I don't have to worry about my meter running dry, or having one too many drinks to drive myself home, or being able to move around from area to area in comfort. And if you say "you can do that with an Uber too!" it's true! But does it really surprise you that someone would want a car that drives calmly, obeys all traffic laws and gives you a little downtime from the outside world pre or post the activity you'd been doing before stepping in the car? Does that really rise to the level of mental disease? It seems like a huge catastrophizing stretch to get there based solely on preferring to be in a Waymo rather than a taxi or Uber. edit: grammar