Circling Robotaxi Incident Briefly Traps Tech Entrepreneur
On his way back from Phoenix, Arizona, a Los Angeles tech entrepreneur reportedly almost missed his flight last week after he was trapped inside a self-driving Waymo taxi that kept going in circles around a parking lot at the Scottsdale airport.
Facts
- On his way back from Phoenix, Arizona, a Los Angeles tech entrepreneur reportedly almost missed his flight last week after he was trapped inside a self-driving Waymo taxi that kept going in circles around a parking lot at the Scottsdale airport.[1][2]
- Tech futurist and artificial intelligence (AI) expert Mike Johns was on his way to the Sky Harbor airport when the car circled the parking lot eight times. "Has this been hacked?" he's heard telling a Waymo official over the phone in a LinkedIn video.[3]
- The Waymo customer service official, who Johns surmised may have been an AI assistant, eventually managed to stop the car just in time for him to catch his flight. Waymo didn't charge Johns for the trip.[4]
- Waymo, an arm of Google's parent company, Alphabet, claims to be the "world's first autonomous ride-hailing service," aiming for a safer customer experience. It admitted that the incident with Johns caused a five-minute delay.[5][6]
- Following the incident, Johns vowed not to use the self-driving taxi service and to stick to "Lyft or Uber."[7][8]
- This comes after the company said out of its more than 5M rides, there have "only been a handful of instances" in which users reported technical glitches and safety concerns.[2][9]
Sources: [1]Independent, [2]Los Angeles Times, [3]The Guardian, [4]CBS (a), [5]CNN, [6]Daily Mail, [7]People, [8]AU and [9]CBS (b).
Narratives
- Narrative A, as provided by CNN. While reminiscent of a 1920s comedic movie, this incident highlights serious risks of automation errors, from cars mistaking puddles for hazards to crashing into poles and trucks. The illusion of self-driving safety can be dangerous, leaving passengers powerless when systems fail, turning tech dreams into nerve-wracking ordeals.
- Narrative B, as provided by, as provided by Washington Post. This was an isolated, temporary glitch rather than proof of system failure — despite the issue having legs on social media. This transportation technology aims to reduce accidents and fatalities compared to human drivers, with data showing fewer injuries and damage. Judging an entire technological leap by rare errors ignores its potential to revolutionize transportation for the better.
