Slow-and-Steady Waymo Is Winning the Self-Driving Race
The autonomous vehicle company’s caution, once seen as a weakness, is starting to pay off. Others should heed that lesson as they develop AI at breakneck speed.
Waymo’s cars have traveled 7.1 million miles and have caused just three minor injuries.
Photographer: Jason Henry/AFP/Getty Images
Alphabet Inc.’s self-driving unit Waymo announced on Monday that it plans to unleash its cars onto the freeway in Phoenix “soon.” The city has long been a test bed for the latest in autonomy, and it’s where Alphabet’s engineers will be the first to send driverless tech hurtling down public roads at high speed without a safety driver.
Good for them. The milestone is a fair reward for Waymo’s more careful approach to autonomous vehicles when compared with its floundering and irresponsible rivals. That Waymo now stands ahead of its competitors should serve as a lesson to companies rushing forward with artificial intelligence: A little caution can pay off.