Why do you need anything beyond “riding a virtual track”, though? The point of a car is to go from A to B, and a track is literally the most effective way to do that (which is why we need more trains in the first place, but that’s an entirely separate rant I could go on about).

I don’t… but if we have not truly automated literal tracks (trains), I have very little trust in the virtual version being “ready”

IMO, at a certain point you reach a level of autonomy that is sufficient enough.

Agreed, and to me, that means ZERO human intervention (at least to be able to call it “fully autonomous”). The only appropriate intervention is when the car detects it is breaking down and must stop and wait for a tow truck

It doesn’t need to know every nook and cranny of obscure roads because realistically, nobody’s going there to begin with

And I think here is the gist… I do not want or care for robotaxis in my city. That is just the same bullshit with more steps to continue down the line of unwalkable cities where you depend on a car (which is now a rent seeking service). I want truly fully autonomous driving so eventually we can get to the point where a fleet of truly autonomous cars covers the last mile where mass public transit cannot. Therefore, I do need tech that can navigate low traffic neighborhoods, not just go around downtown

Waymo at least understands the realistic limitations of their tech

If they did, they wouldn’t call their tech “Fully autonomous”… I mean, come on, why do you still fight for the lies they try to feed you. It’s the same everywhere, with food “added vitamins” without telling you their processing took out so many nutrients you are basically eating air even with the “added vitamins”

If Waymo had called their tech “minimally assisted driving” I would have the respect for them you seek from me