Autonomy doesn’t need to mean fewer jobs
It’s increasingly hard to be a skeptic of autonomous mobility. The question is no longer whether it will happen — it’s happening all around! — but what form(s) it will take at scale. Will people own autonomous vehicles or will robotaxis allow us to opt out of vehicle ownership altogether? As more of today’s transportation roles — on the road and in the factory — are automated, will that mean fewer jobs overall or just different types of jobs?
Hence the news this week: GM is cutting jobs to make room for more AI roles, leading California pols want to protect trucking jobs from automation, a startup unveils a $12,000 EV aimed at African ride-hail drivers, Waymo issues a software recall related to flooded streets, and Chicago finally breaks ground on a rail segment that has been in the works for 60 years.
What you need to know
A GM twist on the ‘AI layoffs’ narrative: A number of tech firms in recent months have loudly announced layoffs, often attributing them to AI efficiencies. GM is doing something different: it is laying off 10% of its IT staff but saying that it intends to re-fill those positions with employees with greater AI proficiency. GM’s behavior aligns more with the belief among most economists that AI will not actually result in a major upswing in unemployment.
Waymo takes on water: America’s most successful robotaxi operator issues a software recall aimed at preventing its fleet from driving through flooded roads. It’s a reminder that these edge cases remain very important for AVs to address. If they don’t get them right, one storm could prove disastrous.
An EV innovation for African ride-hail drivers: Bingo Technologies, a California-based EV developer, unveils a small electric vehicle that it argues can revolutionize ride-hailing in major African cities. The Bingo E2 is a small EV available for $12,000. It is equipped with five batteries: one 31kw module for “long-range efficiency” and four smaller batteries that can be swapped out in under two minutes for a combined 310 mile range. Bingo is marketing the car as both a personal vehicle and a side-business — people can lease the car out to ride-hail drivers. We’ll see if it works out.
Chicago’s 60-year-old train concept comes to life: An extension of the Red Line rail line that has been planned for 60 years will soon break ground. This is a familiar story in American public transit, where legacy transit systems have struggled to expand since the mid-20th century. We did a deep dive last year into why U.S. transit agencies have become so bad at building new infrastructure over the past half century.
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What we’re reading
Is climate a winning issue? Democrats are increasingly questioning whether the emphasis their party has placed on climate change has turned off voters who are struggling to pay their energy bills. In the New York Times, environmental writer Matthew Huber argues that elected officials can make progress on the environmental agenda without making climate change central to their discourse. Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego recently made similar points. There is no shortage of pushback, however, on “climate hushing.”
The Teamsters v. robots: In an article for City Journal, Jordan McGillis chides two of the leading candidates for governor of California for vowing to reverse the state DMV’s policy authorizing autonomous freight trucks. In trying to protect trucking jobs, says McGillis, state politicians will have to answer for higher costs for consumers.
