Google Makes History, New Media Tears Itself a New One

Burney Simpson

Something happened last week on the way to the next great prediction about driverless cars.

Google said it would send 25 of its autonomous cars out on the streets of Mountain View, Calif., traveling at a maximum of 25 MPH, and coming fully equipped with driver, steering wheel, and brake and accelerator pedals – to meet California state requirements.

We hear so much about what autonomous cars will bring – safer travel, productive commutes, increased mobility – that we forget about concrete results. Granted, 25 cars puttering around at 25 MPH is just a start. But this is real vehicles driving around real streets, and possibly making roads safer and more efficient for more people.

Meanwhile, there was a dust up among the new media types over driverless vehicles.

It started when a self-described “Boulder, CO-based entrepreneur, speaker, futurist, and writer”-type guy proclaimed that by 2025 autonomous technology would put millions out of work, destroy OEMs and auto insurers and parking lots, virtually end car ownership, save lives and gasoline, and do more good stuff. Or bad stuff, depending on your view.

This was too much for a Jalopnik blogger. He said the predictions were fantasyland nonsense that simply won’t happen in a mere 10 years. And Mr. Jalopnik proceeded to do a solid, and entertaining, job of demolishing the original blogger.

In fairness, Mr. Boulder, CO originally set down his thoughts in his personal blog in January — I assume shortly after CES 2015 when everyone seemed to have drunk the autonomous Kool Aid. A version of that blog was run this month by Quartz, an offshoot of The Atlantic, where it garnered more exposure, and apparently caught the eye of Jalopnik.

This kind of battle is a positive in some ways. It shows that there are many viewpoints in the growing driverless-technology community, and that this is a passionate bunch.

The lesson to this gray beard though is that the work counts. Many of us make predictions and write comments.

Google did the work. Congrats, and thanks.