The Economist.
Well,
I think what's happening in San Francisco is the only meaningful thing that's happening in this country and quite possibly the world.
In 1967,
young people flocked to Northern California to take acid and dream about a different kind of future.
Okay, so I am on the corner of a street in San Francisco.
The sun is shining.
Nearly 60 years on from the summer of love,
crowds of podcasters flock to the same city to dream about a different kind of future and experience their first trip.
I'm about to do something that I have never done before, which is ride in a self-driving car.
So we have ordered a Waymo.
It is on its way to us.
The cars are big, futuristic-looking jaguars, covered with cameras and sensors.
You hail them from a smartphone app, just like an Uber.
All right, I think I could see it in the distance.
No, it's turning, it's signaling.
Yeah, this must be it.
Nearly 90% of Americans say they'd be afraid or unsure about riding in a self-driving car.
And it is unsettling when you get in the back and first see the steering wheel turn on its own.
But then, weirdly, you just get used to it.