The Two Opposite Futures of Self-Driving Cars

OK, I admit -- I'm Cleo's Dad. But really, this is a great episode! The best part is how she organizes the coming driverless car/truck revolution to explain "the messy messy middle." Oh, also -- yes, the Batmobile WAS a driverless car.

In all of your videos there is usually a spot (or several) where you lay out the landscape of the topic and say "we are here". In this video, the 2x2 grid really helped me understand what's going on (and what is not). Two thumbs up.

Self driving cars would be amazing for people with disabilities. My sister has special needs and isn't quite able to drive on her own. One of her friends has a seizure disorder, and while he's been seizure free for a while, he still can't drive. This would also be amazing for visually impaired people. Since we have trash public transit, it could do a lot for people

I've always said that self-driving technology will come to trucks before cars. Having a car drive itself is a neat gimmick, but having a lorry drive itself is a major, major cost saver to the logistics industry. Ultimately the one with the bigger financial incentive behind it was always going to come first. And as for myself, I'll continue to use the mode of transport that has been 'self-driving' (at least from the perspective of passengers) for its entire existence: Trains. They're so much better than even the most utopian self-driving cars I've ever seen being presented to us.

People want driverless cars because they hate having to drive (emphasis on having to). But there are better solutions for this problem which would lead to more sustainable and livable cities, meanwhile also addressing major societal issues like sky rocketing housing prices and even obesity. What we need is cities and urban spaces that are designed for people rather than cars.

I'm a Tesla Model Y owner with FSD Beta. I enjoy testing this in my area. Each release the car gets better and better. It is like watching a teenage driver get better and better through experience. You have to be control (or in the case of teen driver, scream!) at all times because in this 'messy time' things will happen you will not like. Great video.

Love how you tell stories, Cleo. It's so accessible.

We had around 2016 driverless buses in my hometown (Trikala,Greece) going on a scheduled route in a seperate bus lane, around the city center. Even if it lasted only for 6 months, since it was a EU program, and despite having maximum speed of around 20 kmph, it was a rather unique experience, travelling with one of the first fully independent automated vehicles

I think we need another episode on the different approaches between Tesla and every other autonomous driving company.

If I could shout something at Cruise / Waymo - where they are needed the most is if they can solve the “last mile” problem with public transit. I don’t need to ride a self driving car all the way to NYC, I just need it to get me to the train station that’s a ~5 minute drive away.

Cleo, I have worked in the autonomous industry since 2009 and my company leads others through the transition (cities, airports, state DOTs, etc.) and we also help the autonomous makers with their deployments (installation, risk assessment, safety verification...). We also educate people about the benefits & path to get to autonomous. And I have to say, your video is the BEST explanation I have seen. I am going to share this throughout my network. VERY well done!!! I'm so glad that this popped up on my feed this morning!

You need to try a full self driving beta tesla .

As someone who deals a LOT with the trucking industry and where said industry impacts cost directly, we are foaming at the mouth to get autonomous long range trucks. The cost and time savings will be huge.

I'm curious why you didn't look more closely at Tesla FSD Beta? Considering that this appears to be the most advanced self-driving technology available right now, it seems a pretty "huge" omission. Tesla's FSD Beta represents the state of the art when it comes to self-driving, and it has nothing to do with taxis.

Cool topic, but would've appreciated some more in-depth details. Like how they're training the cars, what sort of tech, sensors, etc. Future plans for fleets, city expansion. What their biggest challenges are. Last few videos have been interesting, but without enough depth to learn anything new (like reading headlines without the article). I really do enjoy Huge If True and am excited to see your journey. Thanks!

Tried one in Vegas at CES several years ago. It was… terrifying and cool at the same time?

Great video. Although I wish you would have mentioned Tesla, who is by many measures leading the self driving industry

As a data scientist myself working on similar problems I am really happy to see cars getting smarter but I would love to see the traffic signals/lights getting smarter too .. that makes a lot of difference or find a way not to have traffic lights at all.. if things are getting automated. That’s what I would call progress.

There's an interesting battle between the technologies of self-driving as well. Notably pure vision vs LiDAR

I’m a Tesla FSD beta tester and I’m amazed you didn’t talk at all about how differently Tesla is approaching autonomous driving. Have you had the chance to test a Tesla driving autonomously in a city?? Is not perfect, but when it works, is amazing!