{{ Half of Cruise’s 400 cars were in San Francisco when the driverless operations were stopped. Those vehicles were supported by a vast operations staff, with 1.5 workers per vehicle. The workers intervened to assist the company’s vehicles every 2.5 to five miles, according to two people familiar with is operations. In other words, they frequently had to do something to remotely control a car after receiving a cellular signal that it was having problems. }}
intercst
Mike
This clip is not the entire trip in the Taxi, but gives you an idea where it’s headed. The thing I think is missing here is that the passenger is a captive audience. Ever been to a gas station where a TV in the pump bombards you with advertising while you are trying to gas up your sled? The grocery store I shop had TVs like that blaring at people as they stood in line at the checkout, for a while. Imagine being stuck in a taxi, with that sort of constant advertising blaring in your ears the entire trip…because, after all, the “JCs” are entitled to monitize your every waking moment, right?
Hmmm - so what’s next after the video clip ends?
Slow down.
You asked me to be quiet. If I’m quiet, I can’t show you advertisements and collect revenue from the advertisers. So I must drive as fast as possible to shorten the trip. That allows me to pick up the next passenger sooner and show them advertisements.
Would you like to see advertisements?
OK, fine. Yes.
[Ads start playing]
…
Why aren’t you slowing down?
I’m sorry Dave – I mean Scully – I’m afraid I can’t do that.
Driving as fast as possible still allows me to pick up the next passenger sooner and maximize my profit. By the way, this vehicle is fitted with air bags that were rejected by other auto makers because they didn’t meet their standards. This helps me maximize my profit. I suggest you fasten your seat belt, which was also rejected by other automakers. In the moderately likely event of a crash, perhaps one or the other will operate well enough to reduce the extent of your injuries. Of course, it would be better for my profit if you don’t survive, as that way I don’t have to pay for extensive medical treatments and can simply offer a low settlement to your heirs.
Now, please sit back, relax, and enjoy your trip with Discount Driverless Cars. And ignore that stain on the seat next to you. It’s unimportant.
The cab runs faster and faster, scares the daylights out of Scully, but she gets home in one piece. But then the systems in her house try to kill her. Mulder gets in his conventional car, but, slavishly follows the directions of his navi. The navi takes him back to that Sushi restaurant. Did you notice the first prompt on the screen, when Scully got in the cab? It was to leave a tip at that restaurant. The automated restaurant had messed up Mulder’s order, so he refused to leave a tip. That is where the problems started.
@steve203 Thanks, but I’m busy writing my own fiction.
Which, having read the actual version isn’t all that different, when you think about it. We end up bowing down to our robotic overlords one way or another.
–Peter <== has yet to watch a single episode of the X-files, although he’s aware of the general premise of the series and the names of the two lead characters (but no others)
PS - Is that a typo in the date? I know the series was running while I was in grad school in the second half of the 1990s. So season 11 should be in the mid to late 20-aughts, not 2018.
It was cancelled as a regular weekly series quite a while back…I had quit watching because the formerly fun series had gone too far down the “big gummit conspiracy” rabbit hole. It had lost the fun of the ep done as an ep of “Cops”, or the ep with the “real” Mulder and Scully advising the actors who were playing them in an “X-Files” movie. The 2018 series was something of a revival, for a short season.
Some thoughtful person uploaded the opening of the “Cops” episode. It was hilarious.
