pic: Google Streetview driver autograph

[Tristan Lall]

Originally Posted by JesseK

Call me a cynic, but I think "fully autonomous street view cars" is an example of programmers writing code to directly and indiscriminantly eliminate someone's job.

Isn't it a short-term contract job, with no particular expectation of job security? (Because it's probably much cheaper to hire locals on a short-term basis, every few years, than to have full-time employees living out of hotels as they drive around.) And in the short term, someone will have to ride in the cars to supervise the car's operation anyway.

It's also a pretty reasonable way for Google to test its autonomous vehicles.