Self driving is here. But not like you thought.
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I’ll admit it. I’d gotten cynical about self driving cars. It feels like every 3 years, we’re told they’ll be here in another 3 years. Recently though, I saw a video that shocked me: Kyle Vogt, CEO of Cruise, called for a taxi and a driverless car arrived. He was just one of hundreds of people across San Francisco who are getting into their ride and finding no one else inside.

So... are self-driving cars finally here?

I took a deep dive into that question over the last few months, trying to piece together all the other self-driving stuff I’ve heard about to get the full picture. I ended up in San Francisco, interviewing Kyle himself!

The answer I found to whether self-driving is here is: YES. Just not like I thought. It’s not the sci-fi version I was expecting. Instead, it’s actually two kinds of autonomous vehicles, battling it out on the roads right now. And our lives are about to look very different depending on who wins.

Chapters:
00:00 Self driving cars are finally here
02:15 Levels of self driving, explained
03:32 Where are we now on self driving cars?
05:07 Thank you Masterworks!
06:10 The big fight for the future of driverless cars
07:04 Interviewing Kyle Vogt, CEO of Cruise
08:20 Robotaxi meets world (and police)
10:00 The two near futures of self driving
11:52 The long term future of driving

Important note (because I never want you to be confused about whether something is sponsored): The only sponsor in this video is Masterworks, which means they got to approve their ad section beforehand, but didn't get a say in the rest of the video. Cruise did not pay me for being part of this video. I did an interview with the Cruise CEO and Cruise let me see their Bolt car, for which I'm very grateful!

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You can find me on TikTok here for short, fun tech explainers:   / cleoabram  
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Bio:
Cleo Abram is an Emmy-nominated independent video journalist. On her show, Huge If True, Cleo explores complex technology topics with rigor and optimism, helping her audience understand the world around them and see positive futures they can help build. Before going independent, Cleo was a video producer for Vox. She wrote and directed the Coding and Diamonds episodes of Vox’s Netflix show, Explained. She produced videos for Vox’s popular YouTube channel, was the host and senior producer of Vox’s first ever daily show, Answered, and was co-host and producer of Vox’s YouTube Originals show, Glad You Asked.

Vox: https://www.vox.com/authors/cleo-abram
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10108242/

Additional reading and watching:
- “My first fully driverless pickup!” Cruise    • My first fully driverless pickup! | LONG  
- “Why You Should Want Driverless Cars On Roads Now,” Veritasium    • Why You Should Want Driverless Cars O...  
- “From 1956: A future vision of driverless cars,” CBS    • From 1956: A future vision of driverl...  
- “Self-Driving Big Rigs Are Coming. Is America Ready?” Christopher Mims, Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/articles/self-dri...
- “Beyond Tesla: Driverless Startups Promise Next-Level Autonomous Vehicles,” Wall Street Journal Video    • Beyond Tesla: Driverless Startups Pro...  
- “Are Driverless Trucks The Future Of Shipping? Inside Waymo’s New Test Program,” NBC    • Are Driverless Trucks The Future Of S...  
- “75 Minutes of Autonomous Driving with Kyle Vogt and Sam Altman,” Cruise    • 75 Minutes of Autonomous Driving with...  
- “3 Generations of Driverless Delivery Vehicles,” WIRED    • 3 Generations of Driverless Delivery ...  
- “Tesla Autopilot For 24 Hours Straight!” Ryan Trahan    • Tesla Autopilot For 24 Hours Straight!  

Gear I use:
Camera: Sony A7SIII
Lens: Sony 16–35 mm F2.8 GM
Audio: Sennheiser SK AVX and Zoom H4N Pro

Music: Musicbed

Follow along for more episodes of Huge If True: https://www.youtube.com/cleoabram?sub...

—
Welcome to the joke down low:

What has 10 letters and starts with G-A-S?
Automobile.

Find a way to use the word “start” in a comment to let me know you’re a real one ;)