Waymo CEO Pledges To Fight Any Human Driving Ban, "Because 911s"
As we head towards a future of fully autonomous driving, one question has persisted for enthusiasts: will we one day be banned from operating cars ourselves? Sure, the tech won’t be ready for many, many years, but even so, you can’t help but wonder if governments around the world would seek to ban human driving in the name of safety.
Perhaps surprisingly, John Krafcik, CEO of big autonomy player Waymo, has a different view. Asked by Jalopnik if he thought human drivers would have to be banned in the future, Krafcik said: “Good heavens no…I am not that sort of a believer.”
Krafcik, who owns a 2006 Porsche 911 Carrera and a Caterham Seven among other petrolhead favourites, reckons there’s scope for ‘manual’ driving mixing with full autonomy in the future. “There are going to be times when we just want to get into our 911, and take it for a drive…because that’s that we want to do,” he said, adding, “And I think we’ll always have the choice.”
Furthermore, if a ban on human drivers was touted by the powers-that-be, Krafcik said Waymo would “fight” it. Why? “Because 911s,” he said…
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
John Carter is that you?
The real mvp
People need to stop trying to replace humans with machines for EVERYTHING, glad someone’s fighting against it.
The hero we deserve!!! Thank you!
What a legend
John Krafcik has a Volvo V60 Polestar, by the way. Just remembered that from Car and Driver
#savethemanuals
Waymo boss is a good guy if he does that because human drivers are better than AI especially the drivers with a lot of experience behind the wheel
Perfect solution for the automotive world in the future:
Dailys/luxury cruisers: Autonomous EVs
Sports cars/Grand Tourers: Human-driven ICEs