A little bit funny, these two adjacent paragraphs:
> Anyone who gets in the Waymo and sees the note “can feel this emotion of surprise, joy or inspiration” at seeing someone putting themself out there in an unorthodox way, [dating coach Joyce] Zhang said, potentially prompting riders to ask themselves: “What can I do to put myself out there in the world?”
> The 26-year-old single man did not respond to a reporter’s text and voicemail seeking comment.
Being hounded by a Washington Post reporter wasn't the world out into which he lightheartedly intended to put himself.
Great, WaPo mentioned it, now it's dead and no longer fun and will be overused.
Why can't journos leave anything alone man
Soon, ads on screens in Waymos? Probably. Has Google ever resisted the temptation to put ads on something?
Using robo-taxies to pass notes like a message in a bottle.
Not the future I expected, but honestly sounds like a fun little experiment.
Provably shouldn't have included that dude's phone number in the photo of his note.
> Tech workers are leaving notes in robot taxis seeking workers and lovers
Like toilet notes ? Dirty message + phone number ?
Sounds like the perfect example that human touch is dead.
It hadn't ocurred waymo to add a page to the T&C about what Past, present or Future communication can occur in the cab.
This is like writing on the walls of a public bathroom stall.
Mini BBS tied to each taxi in the Waymo app in 3… 2… 1…
This stinks of publicity stunt. Employers and dating via robocars? I don't believe it at all.
My theory is once the novelty wears off and the high tech jaguar carriage is eating margins, public robo taxis will be about as fun to ride in as a public toilet. The lack of a person and the social pressure that implies (and legal protections) means people will do just about anything in the robotaxi. Cameras and deplatforming will work for a while but it’ll turn into more an accumulation of small things - spilled drinks, garbage left behind - then eventually it’ll be a race to the bottom where most people ride in relative filth while people continue to private cars because they want to avoid sitting in semen stains.