Dietterich: Waymo needs a sensor-laden human-driven control car to prove it saves lives
tdietterich · x · 2026-11-15
In a debate over whether Waymo is clearly saving lives today, UC Berkeley professor emeritus Thomas Dietterich argues the evidence isn't settled: Waymo should run a control condition — a car bristling with sensors but driven by a person — to isolate the safety benefit of autonomous driving from that of the sensor stack. His interlocutor counters that Waymo must keep improving, but blocking its rollout carries significant costs given lives already being saved.
Related event: Dietterich Challenges Waymo's Safety Claims and Liability(7 posts)→
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