One reason driving is so enraging a lot of the time is because it's only "nice" when it works in the best way possible. No congestion, no getting stuck at lights, easy to find parking, no unexpected diversions, etc... etc... Add in any of these frictions and suddenly the driving experience seems "broken."Not to pick on somebody who seems to do very cool work in their own right but this is precisely the issue: self-driving cars will never be "like an Uber, except without a human driver". They'll drive differently, they'll be slower, they'll have unexpected limitations. Always. https://t.co/RLHZXDKEul
— Sifu Tweety Fish, cDc (@sifutweety) September 6, 2022
The point ST is trying to make here is that self-driving cars will "always" be inferior to a human driver. They will not be able to adapt quickly to all situations, to the little unexpected things (double parked cars, construction zones, etc... etc...) that we are confronted with every time we're on the road. They will be a bit annoying, at best! Regular moments of an "unsure" AI, regular moments of not adapting and responding as quickly as a human would.
Not just annoying for the passenger, but annoying for all the other nearby cars!
The technology is really neato, it's amazing how well it works even now, but even in the geo-fenced areas in which robotaxis are working "pretty well," they're... kind of annoying! Is it worth adding an average 5 minutes to every trip around town?
Shoot down one use and people come up with other ones. Long distance trucking! Sure and why haven't they been implemented on a wide scale yet, despite regular reports of testing?
The answer is left as an exercise for you, dear readers.