AI Raises Questions We Thought We Would Never Ask

Would you get into a vehicle without a driver? It wasn’t that long ago that the answer to that question would be obvious and the question itself would be seen as nonsensical.

But it’s a question that a lot of people are asking themselves and each other thanks to artificial intelligence and the emergence of self-driving vehicles.

And now in San Diego, with a fight brewing over the planned introduction of Waymo robo-taxis in our city, questions about this new high-tech way of getting around without a driver, have expanded beyond just the ones about whether you feel safe in them and trust them,

With the Taxi Advisory Committee of the Metropolitan Transit System sounding an alarm that many are hearing, the Waymo vehicles could be facing an uphill ride in America’s Finest City.

Some city leaders along with labor leaders are worried that self-driving taxis could lead to a major financial hit on Uber and Lyft drivers, cabbies, food delivery workers and courier service employees.

City Councilman Sean Elo-Rivera says we need to talk about the impact on these people before we unleash certain types of innovations in a city that already has a high cost of living.

And as one labor official put it to the San Diego Union Tribune, “Waymo driverless cars are not fair competition.”

While new technology has always led to some fears, AI in 2025 is raising lots of questions we never thought we’d have to ask.

(Photo Getty Images)