San Francisco may soon get 24/7 driverless cabs. City leaders are fuming • Hacker News Board

Re: San Francisco may soon get 24/7 driverless cabs. City leaders are fuming

#91

Post by spaceman_2020 » Mon, Jul 03, 2023, 5:24 AM UTC

_ea1k wrote: post #86

spaceman_2020 wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Will the SDC not get any updates over the internet? What Google decides to lock me out? Or show me unskippable ads before starting the car? I don’t think the self driving car cheerleaders have thought this out.

Nothing will stop someone from building a SDC that doesn't have the ability to be locked out like that. The tech to do this is getting easier each year.

We’re down to a duopoly in the smartphone market. For most of us without a desktop/laptop (the bulk of global internet users), our digital lives are essentially controlled by Apple and Google.

Why would this be any different with SDCs? The tech might be getting easier, but current market forces make it far easier for the big players to monopolize the market.

Re: San Francisco may soon get 24/7 driverless cabs. City leaders are fuming

#92

Post by _ea1k » Tue, Jul 04, 2023, 5:42 PM UTC

spaceman_2020 wrote: post #91

_ea1k wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nothing will stop someone from building a SDC that doesn't have the ability to be locked out like that. The tech to do this is getting easier each year.

We’re down to a duopoly in the smartphone market. For most of us without a desktop/laptop (the bulk of global internet users), our digital lives are essentially controlled by Apple and Google. Why would this be any different with SDCs? The tech might be getting easier, but current market forces make it far easier for the big players to monopolize the market.

There are a lot of competing car makers. In theory, they should select from multiple competing offerings.

Then again, they haven't always done well with that in supplier selection. You might be right, they might end up largely tying themselves to a few suppliers.

OTOH, the network effects shouldn't be as strong. It isn't hard to imagine FOSS options like OpenPilot continuing to exist.

Re: San Francisco may soon get 24/7 driverless cabs. City leaders are fuming

#93

Post by nicolashahn » Wed, Jul 05, 2023, 6:49 PM UTC

computing wrote: post #82

The SF dilemma: - can’t own a car because expensive, no parking, will get broken into - can’t use a bike because roads are dangerous for bikers and bike will get stolen if parked outside - can’t use uber/lyft because expensive, companies abuse drivers - can’t use public transport, because it doesn’t cover enough of the city, timetable unpredictable, can be dangerous or unpleasant - can’t use self-driving cars, becaus…

The thing is you can use all of these for different use cases.

I have a car which I take to anywhere I can park easily (which is a lot of places in the city if you avoid downtown).

I don't own a bike but I know many who do, and just take it inside with them. Roads are dangerous for bikers but not moreso than every other city in the country.

I use uber/lyft only when I know I'm not going to be sober, which isn't that often (once a weekish).

Plenty of people I know use public transit, though only some routes are useful/safe.

Self driving cars are still very early days and I'm sure they'll work out the technical issues. The fact that they're owned by big tech isn't a problem for me and most other people.