We’re in San Francisco visiting my colleagues at our lovely office that overlooks the city. On Sunday, we took a Waymo for the first time.
No amount of YouTube videos prepared us for the actual experience of autonomous driving, as our Waymo made tiny adjustments that would otherwise be seen as human if it weren’t for the empty driver’s seat. It drives pretty fast too, stops at intersections, waits for people to cross the road even after the light turns green, and speeds off. When we reached our destination, the guy even found a spot between two parked cars to pull over and let us out. It was awesome.
I came here expecting my worldview to change. And the city and the people present you with utopian futures. I’m not just talking about Waymo. Everyone in SF is bullish on AI and has shorter timelines than those outside the Bay bubble. I met people building things straight out of sci-fi books, most of them genuinely believing that AI would make the world better for everyone. I also met pure money-hungry capitalists who are just in for the epic bull run.
I primarily belong with the techno-optimists. I think that advancements in AI and the acceleration they would bring to other scientific and engineering efforts would result in unimaginable improvements for humanity worldwide. But like many others I met, I’m also not oblivious to the effort it would take for individuals, capital, and governments to bring about such a positive change while limiting the negatives.
It helps to think about these utopian futures when working in AI. It sets a North Star for the kind of world we want to build, and it shows up in every single decision we make. There would be far fewer taxi drivers in this utopia, but there would be more amateur racing drivers who do it for the love of the game.