I may have spoken too soon. Last week, to mark the one-year anniversary of this column, we published a piece that reiterated my skepticism about AI. It turns out I just needed a weekend trip to Los Angeles and a few rides in Waymo’s robotaxis to see the technology in a new light.
I’m bored with AI chatbots. After almost three years of putting ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and others through their paces, they still regularly provide me with false information and clutter my social media feeds with soulless nonsense. AI in the physical world felt far more compelling.
Waymo’s robotaxis offer impressive driving with minimal compromises. I experienced none of the hesitation and excessive “politeness” my colleague described after several mid-2024 Waymo rides in Los Angeles. When I was there, the cars took my family and me from point A to point B without any issues, and we had fun along the way. The experience convinced me that AI is helping society evolve, perhaps for the better.
The Great Waymo Divide
It all began with a quick tip from the friend we were staying with. “You should take a Waymo, not Uber. It’s cheaper,” she said when we arrived. So, I pulled up the Waymo app and got going.
My friend has been taking Waymo rides for years, like many people in the five cities where they’re available: Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco. That’s more cities than any other robotaxi company, but the vast majority of Americans haven’t tried Waymo yet simply because of where they live.
The Waymo app in a non-eligible service area, left, versus in an eligible area, right two photos. (Credit: Waymo)
Waymo has been testing in areas that don’t usually experience heavy snow or rain, a common occurrence in the cities I’ve called home—Chicago, New York City, and Seattle. That’s about to change as the company’s vehicles hit the roads in Miami and NYC, where the pedestrians, trucks, and density make navigating particularly difficult, Waymo tells me.
I’ve spent the past few years testing self-driving technologies on consumer vehicles. I’ve cruised down freeways in a $130,000 Mercedes-AMG electric car with a full suite of autonomous assists, and taken road trips with hands-free systems from Ford and General Motors that rival Tesla’s.
These systems are not as autonomous as Waymo and less “like being in The Jetsons,” as my mom put it. They put you in a liminal state—half driving, half not—which creates a new form of stress for me. That’s not the case with Waymo, where you can relax, stream video, and muse about the future.
Head Out on the Highway? Not Yet
First waymo ride (Credit: Emily Forlini)
My first Waymo took eight minutes to arrive. The Jaguar I-Pace electric car pulled up to the house, and its oversized camera apparatus, spinning sensors, and 29 cameras definitely stuck out in the quiet, residential neighborhood where we were staying.
An unlock button appeared on the app, which I pressed. The handles popped out, and I got in. “Hello, Emily Forlini,” read a small screen facing the back seat. I pressed a “start ride” button, and we were on our way. However, the screen showed 45 minutes left in the ride, and I expected the 30 minutes I had seen on Google Maps. We would be 15 minutes late.
Sample Waymo arrival screen (Credit: Smith Collection/Gado / Contributor / Archive Photos via Getty Images)
Why was the trip so much longer? “The only thing is they can’t drive on highways,” my friend had told me earlier. Ah, right. I ignored her comment at the time, not realizing how much this would extend the ride. I also didn’t believe it could be true.
Self-driving tech usually only works on highways, which is a simpler AI problem to solve. Highways tend to be straightforward, with no bikes, pedestrians, or sharp turns. But they also require higher speeds, with more deadly consequences, so it turns out Waymo keeps its vehicles off them out of an abundance of caution.
After an accident forced General Motors to take its Cruise self-driving cars off the road in California, and then the rest of the US, I don’t blame Waymo for being conservative. Plus, even partially self-driving cars are often involved in fatal accidents.
Flawless Driving, Without the Social Pressure
I soon forgot about being late as I marveled at the Waymo’s driving chops. The wheel turned on its own as the car pulled up to a traffic light and waited for the perfect time to take a right on red within oncoming traffic. It mixed into the human cars with ease—no harsh braking—putting on its blinker and switching lanes with ease.
Within minutes we felt comfortable letting the car do its thing and selected a playlist on the rear dash screen (“Summer” by Calvin Harris was the first suggestion, and felt appropriate enough for our LA adventure). We stopped monitoring the car’s every movement and began to chat.
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“This car is nice, but Jaguar actually discontinued it last year,” I told my husband, who graciously listens to all the electric car trivia I learn at work.
“Really?” he replied. “I actually think it looks a bit plasticky and similar to a lot of other cars. I thought Jaguars were fancier.”
“Well, maybe that’s why they discontinued it,” I said. (It also has a relatively low range at 246 miles, given its over $70,000 price tag.)
I realized then that there was no driver listening to our conversation, which is perhaps the main quality-of-life benefit of a Waymo. In an Uber or Lyft, we would never talk about the car like this in front of its owner. We’d pick another topic, and in the back of my mind I’d wonder what the driver thought of us. However, the social pressure was now gone. Poof.
Bad News: You’re Constantly Recorded
The Waymo turns the wheel on its own (Credit: Emily Forlini)
But wait…what else do people do in Waymos since there are no drivers? It feels like being in high school with no parents at home. To that end, there are probably some steamy backseat make-out sessions—but hopefully not more than that, we thought. Do people mix cocktails in the back seat? What lawlessness occurs around here?
In reality, Waymo constantly records the interior and exterior of the vehicle to “check that in-car rules are being followed,” according to an FAQ from parent company Google. We suddenly felt far more watched than by just one driver. An entire corporation could see a clip of this ride. Don’t tell Jaguar what we said!
Recommended by Our Editors
“One time, I lit up a joint and then a person started talking through the speakers and told me to stop,” a passerby told us when we got out at our destination. California problems.
The Waymo seemed programmed to be a law-abiding citizen, though it broke a rule on its own shortly before arriving at our destination. A car ahead of us was preparing to turn right, and taking up space in the lane as it waited behind another. The Waymo went around it to the left, driving on the road’s yellow line.
This impressed me the most. It seemed to have taken a calculated risk, like a human would, knowing it had enough space and there was no oncoming car. The lines between robot and human are blurrier than I thought.
We took two other Waymo rides on the trip. The main issue was needing to walk five to 10 minutes to get picked up a few times since Waymo cannot access every road. That could rule these cars out for people with disabilities or injuries. Plus, the app sometimes told us there were no available cars before promptly finding one. I imagine instances of that will decrease as the fleet expands.
A Surprise Appreciation for Human Drivers
It seems clear that one day the road will be full of self-driving cars, especially with Tesla expanding its robotaxi service. One day, maybe even the most sacred social norms, such as driving a hearse to a funeral, will happen in an autonomous car. How many years would it take for society to be open to that—10, 15, 50, never?
Our last rideshare of the trip had to be an Uber since Waymo can’t yet drop off at LAX airport. That’s common in cities where it operates; Waymo fought for years to get access at SFO in San Francisco.
When I plopped down in the car and said “hello” to the human in the driver’s seat, I felt an unexpected sense of relief and camaraderie with them. There was a friendliness and a shared experience that Waymo lacked. Also, I thought it might be good to sometimes think twice about how a stranger might hear my conversations and to ensure I’m polite throughout the ride.
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Recent reports suggest that young people are less extroverted and conscientious than ever, and more neurotic. Could self-driving technology remove yet another way we interact with others, subtly accelerating the trend? In the end, as much as Waymo convinced me that self-driving cars are part of our future, perhaps the best-case scenario would be a mix of driverless and human-driven cars, striking the right balance between convenience and well-being.
See? How about that optimism for an AI-skeptic?
Waymo Expands to More US Cities, Apple Anticipates iPhone 17 Keynote & More | Tech Today
About Our Expert
Emily Forlini
Senior Reporter
Experience
As a news and features writer at PCMag, I cover the biggest tech trends that shape the way we live and work. I specialize in on-the-ground reporting, uncovering stories from the people who are at the center of change—whether that’s the CEO of a high-valued startup or an everyday person taking on Big Tech. I also cover daily tech news and breaking stories, contextualizing them so you get the full picture.
I came to journalism from a previous career working in Big Tech on the West Coast. That experience gave me an up-close view of how software works and how business strategies shift over time. Now that I have my master’s in journalism from Northwestern University, I couple my insider knowledge and reporting chops to help answer the big question: Where is this all going?
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