Maybe the science-fiction vision of self-driving cars is a difficult technology to perfect in reality, and releasing these killing machines onto public roads was a PR disaster?
#AVs#DriverlessCars#SelfdrivingCars#SiliconValley#AI: "AllOver’s new rideshare service boasts driverless cars (called “CRs”), but the reality is more sinister—instead, contractors like Teresa operate the vehicles while hiding inside a secret compartment. Clinging to the job for financial security, Teresa drives around the clock, witnesses disturbing incidents inside her vehicle, and loses herself in the ouroboros of AllOver’s bureaucracy. Wrong Way is a chilling portrait of economic precarity, and a disturbing reminder of how attempts to optimize life and work only leave us all more alienated than ever before.
McNeil Zoomed with Esquire from her home in Los Angeles to discuss the rise of AI, the uphill battle of life under capitalism, and the gap between Silicon Valley's words and actions. This interview has been edited for length and clarity."
@remixtures I’ve long thought the driverless car fad had a bit too much to do with Elon Musk and the pivot he needed to boost Tesla stock & get more loans against that to save his company..
In a recent guest lecture I noted that self-driving cars are still a dicey proposition despite an investment of 30 years and $100bn. Now San Francisco has suspended Cruise operations after its robotaxi drove over and pinned a pedestrian hit by another car to the ground. I know Cruise gives their cars cutesy names, but did they really have to name this one "panini"? 😬
Waymo and Cruise were granted permission from California officials to expand their operations in San Francisco, but some of the residents are taking a stand and temporarily disabling the robotaxis. BBC journalist James Clayton seeks to understand why the city is so divided on self-driving vehicles.
@TechDesk This is wrong. City officials did not grant this permission. State officials did, against the wishes of city officials (especially the city fire department which strongly opposed it).
#SelfDrivingCars#RoboTaxis#AVs#AI: "Years after the industry first promised self-driving cars were supposed to arrive, some boosters point to the trials happening in San Francisco as proof we’re finally on the cusp of the driverless revolution. But there’s plenty of reason to believe companies are once again overpromising on what they can deliver. The robotaxis are constantly blocking transit and emergency vehicles, and have become a new form of ubiquitous surveillance to aid the police department.
In the viral video, Safe Street Rebel advises opponents of the autonomous vehicles (AVs) to start placing the city’s many orange traffic cones on their hoods to disable them. It’s a protest, but it’s also a way to draw attention to an important decision by the state regulator on whether to significantly expand robotaxi services that was due to be made on July 13, but has now been delayed until August 10. The activist group says the delay is “a sign that our campaign is working.”
To understand more about what’s happening in San Francisco, I spoke with an anonymous activist from Safe Street Rebel. The original video has been removed from TikTok, but you can watch it on Instagram or Twitter."
Companies made fortunes operating illegal taxis throughout the entire country and cops have never done a goddamn thing about it, but put a cone on a car owned by a big company and Waymo feels confident the cops would use violence to stop it.
The Technological #Antisolutions post has been getting some attention recently. A few months back, I was contracted to extend that post to ~4,000 words for a magazine. For a variety of reasons, that didn't work out, so I've posted it on the blog: