Who’s up for a taxi ride with a robot driver?
That’s what’s happening now in San Francisco, where autonomous Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) systems are now operating taxicabs in the city.
Remember the 1990 movie, Total Recall, which is set in 2084 and has Arnold Schwarzenegger jumping into that “Johnny Cab”with the creepy smiling robot at the wheel?
The robotic taxis in San Francisco don’t have robot drivers, to my knowledge. They’re computerized systems equipped with multiple sensors that tell the vehicle where to go, when to go and how fast to go.
Oh, and uh, when to stop suddenly. Very suddenly.
Most of the time, I’m told, driverless vehicles get you to where you want to go — in one piece.
But not always. The car companies working on driverless vehicles acknowledge there have been some accidents while working out the bugs in the systems.
Really horrific accidents, actually.
But we as a culture — as a society looking to the future — are rapidly approaching a point in history when having an actual human driver take you to your destination is no longer necessary -- or acceptable.
I guess the argument is: Why should a taxi/ride-share company pay a real person when a super-smart machine can do the same job basically for free?
OK. So we’ve lost a few people along the way as we “perfect” these A.I. vehicles.
Those folks are truly The Heroes who have moved the needle forward on driverless technology. They are, in effect, “stunt riders” helping to get society to that “Nirvana Moment” when we all can just hop into our own vehicles — or a taxi — and lay back and snooze or do the crossword till we arrive at our destination.
Driverless taxis have only been in operation in San Francisco for a few months. And so far — depending on how you look at it — it hasn’t been going that well. A.I.-driven vehicles have blocked traffic, driven on sidewalks and impeded emergency vehicles.
But no one has died -- yet.
Critics of driverless vehicles — including me — point out that it’s one thing to have driverless cars and trucks moving in relatively straight lines out on interstates and highways.
But it’s quite another to maneuver these contraptions in heavy urban traffic — such as San Francisco.
Critics also say driverless vehicles increase traffic congestion while reducing transit ridership.
But look: There are SOME good things about driverless taxis. You don't have to make small talk with someone you can't really understand anyway.
And you don't have to tip!
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