[10x_contrarian]

I think you're mistaken. There are still massive technological challenges. I have seen nearly no evidence that current self-driving car technology is even remotely close to matching the ability of a novice human driver. Sure while the "don't crash into things" algorithms may generally be fine, these systems seem to frequently deadlock in completely mundane situations. They also seem dependent on remote operator assistance when encountering non-ideal conditions, greatly limiting their maximum speed.

If anything, legislation and social acceptance has moved faster than the technology. That's the opposite what many of us observing this space expected 10 years ago.

At this point I'm starting to have doubts about whether the full dream of self-driving cars will even be realized within my lifetime.

[baby]

I read this comment after taking a cruise in SF, which is a self driving cab with no driver. It basically reminds me of all the comments saying that VR has no future, written by people who have never tried VR and would get their mind blown by it if they tried the latest iteration. Maybe you should come to SF and try one of these self driving cars yourself :)

[10x_contrarian]

I actually do live in the Bay Area and spend a lot of time in San Francisco. I applied for the Cruise waitlist well over a year ago but have not been accepted. I've tried to organize with friends who have access but we rarely have a reason to go the Richmond or Golden Gate Park after 10PM. The coverage area is very limited.

I'm impressed that they're actually offering driverless rides on SF streets, but my point stands. The cars operate only on the slowest streets at the quietest hours. Any problem they encounter is handled by remote operators.

I'm not outright dismissive of self-driving cars. I truly want them to exist. I don't even own a car and dislike being behind the wheel. I just don't buy into infinite hype pushed by a revolving door of charlatans.

Also I do have a modern VR headset and celebrate the technology. But, to make a similar comparison, the metaverse "ready player one" vision is not within our lifetimes.

[baby]

They don’t operate only on the slow streets. They operate mostly on a large rectangle in the north of SF (basically where I live so perfect for me).

[trompetenaccoun]

How does having taken a ride make you an expert? That's a ridiculous argument on a level with trying to shut someone who criticizes Facebook's algorithms down by saying I use Facebook and never had an issue.

If you're into self driving tech, Cruise especially is regularly ridiculed for their vehicles blocking traffic. Take this latest example: https://twitter.com/as611/status/1597144790767788032

But more importantly in case you're not aware it's not true self-driving at all, they're geofenced and both Waymo as well as Cruise have been shown to have issues with even minor changes like a construction site. The tech isn't there, we don't really have full self-driving and if we actually put a million "self-driving" cars on the road as the above user suggested, it would be utter mayhem with current tech. If this will change in the future is to be seen and from what I've observed progress has already slowed as per ninety–ninety rule. It's easy to have some autonomy functions. It's hard to have millions of fully automated cars. So far, we're nowhere near it.

[matchbok]

Funny, because VR has no future outside of some niche areas. It's the new 3D TV. The average person doesn't want a computer strapped to their head all day.

[baby]

I ALWAYS thought 3D tv was the biggest gimmick. I was the first to point it out. And I’ll be the first to tell you that VR is freaking mind blowing and your comment is going to poorly age.

[gniv]

You might be right, but have you seen this: https://old.reddit.com/r/electricvehicles/comments/z9b1rq/wa...

This level of sophistication makes me think it will not "frequently deadlock".