Bloomberg Originals24 min
Waymo’s Bet on a Driverless Future | The Circuit with Emily Chang
Emily Chang, Tekedra Mawakana, Amanda Bell
Interview
- Society is expected to increasingly accept robot-caused deaths and embrace imperfect technology to improve road safety, with the long-term goal of achieving superhuman safety to eliminate a large percentage of the 1.2 million global road deaths.
- Waymo plans to enter the Austin and Atlanta markets by the end of next year, expand its electric minivan (Ojai) fleet, and deploy technology across multiple business lines including licensing to automotive companies over 5, 10, and 20-year horizons.
- Physical vehicle components like steering wheels, pedals, and driver seats are predicted to be removed over time as the industry moves toward a future where the autonomous driver is the only one needed, though manual driving will remain a valid option alongside autonomous services for years to come.
- Significant challenges include the anticipated inevitability of catastrophic or fatal accidents as crash rates approach zero, with Waymo acknowledging that a challenging day involving such an incident is a known probability despite mitigation efforts.
- The company aims to reduce costs with every vehicle generation while matching pricing to the experience offered, and intends to collaborate with U.S. auto manufacturers to design vehicles with Waymo components within a couple of years.
- Operational strategies involve expanding fleet capabilities through learning from challenges, utilizing data inputs to predict outcomes, and hiring former drivers for fleet roles, while explicitly excluding functions like general surveillance or tracking individual movements for law enforcement.
- Waymo expects the generalizable autonomous driver to become the standard consumer expectation for point-to-point travel, with technology globally available for sale and data sharing with law enforcement downscoped as much as feasible.
- Leadership development focuses on championing human jobs within the AV ecosystem and ensuring diverse representation, including female and Black leaders, to shape future industry standards and address societal discomfort with the current status quo.