Episode Details

On the streets of San Francisco, the future of transport is already taking fares. Driverless taxis from Waymo and Cruise glide through traffic, offering a glimpse of artificial intelligence finally escaping the screen and entering the physical world. In this episode, we explore how robotaxis are being rolled out far more cautiously than past tech revolutions, why sensor-heavy systems have outpaced camera-only approaches, and what it would take for autonomous taxis to become truly affordable at scale. As regulators hesitate, the public remains wary, and an entire profession faces disruption, the story asks whether robotaxis represent a quiet inevitability—or a technological promise still struggling to earn society’s trust.

https://www.economist.com/business/2023/08/31/cherish-your-uber-drivers-soon-they-will-be-robots