This podcast episode explores the journey and challenges of driverless cars, focusing on their impact on San Francisco. The episode describes how driverless cars have become a common sight in the city, with hundreds of them driving around constantly. It dives into the logistics of using driverless cars, the passenger experience, and the debates surrounding their adoption. The episode also delves into the development of driverless cars, starting from early experiments in the '60s to Google's involvement and the challenges faced in realizing the vision of autonomous vehicles. It discusses the initial hype and high expectations surrounding self-driving cars, the setbacks faced by the industry, and the flaws encountered in testing and development. The episode concludes with a public hearing in San Francisco determining the future of driverless cars, highlighting the arguments and concerns raised by supporters and opponents. The impact of large tech companies on the city and the incidents involving driverless cars are also discussed, raising questions about the safety and readiness of the technology. The episode explores whether driverless cars are a necessary and viable moonshot technology.
Anti-commonsence
1. The transcript discusses the flaws and challenges encountered in the development and testing of autonomous vehicles, highlighting their glitchiness and the instances where they made mistakes and caused traffic congestion. This goes against the common perception that driverless cars are highly advanced and flawless in their operation.
2. The episode emphasizes the importance of human skill, judgment, and common sense that technology lacks in ensuring the safety and reliability of driverless cars. This challenges the belief that autonomous vehicles are inherently superior to human drivers in terms of safety.
