A Taste of Autonomous Driving Proves Profound

This past week, my wife Nancy and I were in San Francisco for a conference and had the opportunity to use Waymo’s autonomous ride service several times in the downtown area as we moved from place to place.

The ride struck me as both coincidental and profound. Just a week earlier, I’d marveled at the way an autonomous vehicle, without anyone inside, maneuvered through traffic in Austin. A few days later, I was in the back seat, marveling at how well the vehicle navigated its way through the winding hills and streets of San Francisco.

Overall, my sense is that while Level 5 autonomous driving is limited to specific areas, the technology has most certainly arrived. I was impressed when I heard a siren and the car moved to the right to let a fire truck pass. Same for when a vehicle was double-parked and blocked our path on a street. The car slowed down to let oncoming vehicles pass, and then went around the obstacle. When we were heading up a hill, the vehicle did the equivalent of hitting the gas to make the climb. At stop signs behind other vehicles, the car inched forward, just like most drivers do as they approach an intersection.

Beyond the human-like nature of the vehicle’s driving ability, Nancy and I appreciated the human touches the vehicle offered as we used the Waymo app to unlock the door and get in. A voice welcomed us by name. It played music, and gave us the option to speak to someone if we needed it.

To be sure, the experience was a bit creepy. But, in the end, it was more cool than creepy.

I also couldn’t help but think that at its most basic level, the vehicle’s human-like driving ability boiled down to a bunch of code. Pretty amazing.

I left town know I have no qualms about taking another ride in a fully autonomous vehicle, and that while the pandemic may have stalled efforts by Waymo and other providers to scale their services, it’s only a matter of time before they do.