Uber’s new robotaxi skepticism
Dara Khosrowshahi says society isn’t ready for self-driving Taxis yet
by Christian Zdravko
Uber founder Travis Kalanick was renowned for his 2015 statement that “Most (Taxi) drivers won’t even be needed in the next few years as driverless cars take over the roads.”
So it’s ironic that Uber’s current CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi is skeptical of Elon Musk’s developing driverless technology. Khosrowshahi spoke in an interview on The Logan Bartlett Show.
To recap, Tesla founder Elon Musk is planning to reveal one of his latest projects in transportation, the fully driverless, Artificial Intelligence (AI)-operated robotaxi, on October 10.
Musk has made significant promises. He claims his robotaxis will allow owners to generate passive income by driving passengers without a driver at the wheel. He also said his robotaxi service will launch Tesla’s stock value from the current $740 billion to trillions of dollars.
The Uber CEO believes people are less forgiving when AI makes a mistake on the road compared to when a human makes a mistake.
“Society accepts human fallibility quite readily, but definitely does not accept robots or companies making mistakes.” There is a much higher bar, he said in the interview.
Because of numerous reports of Tesla automated driving errors, many leading to deaths, he does not think people are ready to accept robotaxis as a norm.
There are mixed reports about the reliability of Tesla’s self-driving features. Tesla’s autopilot software is currently available, and is meant to work with a driver in the driver’s seat. The Tesla website reports its Autopilot is 10 times safer than the average U.S. driver, driving without it.
On the other hand, reports like one from The Washington Post claimed the software made major errors, like driving through stop signs in December last year.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety also gave Tesla’s Autopilot, and other features a ‘poor’ rating earlier this year. In Toronto, there is no insurance company that will insure a fully electric vehicle to be used as a Taxi; industry observers believe this is at least in part because they fear fully electric will lead to robotaxis, which no one has yet even discussed insuring.
He said he does not think society is ready to accept driverless vehicles, because the technology is still early in its development.
Despite this, Khosrowshahi does believe that automated vehicles are the future.
“If you think long term, autonomous is going to have a very significant positive impact on society, and on safety. We think for our business, it is going to make transportation and mobility available for a lot more people in a safer way, and should bring prices down pretty significantly.”
