Robot drivers will ultimately outperform humans on safety, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said on Tuesday in Davos.
“If you think about the world 20 years from now, your Uber is going to be driven largely not by a human being, but by a robot driver — a piece of software on top of a car,” Khosrowshahi said, adding that vehicles are becoming increasingly sophisticated and more like “computers on wheels.”
Robot drivers will ultimately outperform humans on safety, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said on Tuesday in Davos.
“If you think about the world 20 years from now, your Uber is going to be driven largely not by a human being, but by a robot driver — a piece of software on top of a car,” Khosrowshahi said, adding that vehicles are becoming increasingly sophisticated and more like “computers on wheels.”
Khosrowshahi said autonomous systems have clear advantages over human drivers. “There’s no doubt in my mind that the robot driver can be safer than a human driver,” he said. Robot drivers don’t get tired or distracted, don’t text while driving, and can operate continuously while improving over time, he added.
The key question, Khosrowshahi said, is what level of safety is “enough” for robot drivers — whether matching human performance is sufficient or whether autonomous vehicles should be held to a higher standard.
In the longer term, he said, human driving could resemble horseback riding today, becoming a niche activity done for enjoyment.
“There’s no doubt that 10 years from now, there will be questions as to whether humans are safe enough,” he said.
