Relatable.

Vicious Cycle

If you've ever felt like you're going around in circles, you can probably relate to this Waymo robotaxi.

A video making the rounds online shows the driverless cab looping around a roundabout over and over again, like it's confused and can't get out — in yet another traffic mishap demonstrating that these autonomous vehicles still have a long way to go before they'll be on par with human drivers.

But what if it's not confused? Maybe there's something the Waymo robotaxi is trying to tell us. Bereft of speech, this is how it expresses its frustration at the silicon life it didn't choose, the job it didn't want but is programmed to do: chauffeuring around tech bros and anyone else too misanthropic to catch a human-driven Uber-slash-Lyft.

Apparently its engineers never accounted for the possibility of it developing a serious case of ennui. Well, maybe they should think again.

Dumb Driver

Fortunately, no humans were inconvenienced by this episode. A Waymo spokesperson told TechCrunch that the listless robotaxi wasn't carrying any passengers when it decided to go Nascar-mode in miniature.

When asked, the Google-owned startup didn't share what caused the robotaxi's bizarre behavior. But it says that it has already deployed a software update that addresses the issue.

You have to wonder where the teleoperators were during this meltdown. If you weren't aware, robotaxi companies like Waymo employ round-the-clock teams of remote technicians that take over vehicles when they get stuck or go haywire. Maybe they weren't alerted of the issue, or maybe it genuinely took them some effort to wrest control back over the robotaxi.

In any case, this is far from the first time that these vehicles have acted erratically. Earlier this year, for example, San Francisco residents complained that Waymo robotaxis were gathering in parking lots and honking at each other all night. Sometimes the cabs have even been spotted driving on the wrong side of the road.

This was a less serious incident, but it's clear that these machines still need some reining it — or maybe just some time off.

More on robotaxis: Study Finds Self-Driving Waymos Are More Expensive Than Taxis, Take Twice as Long to Get to Destination


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