The app for independent voices
Many well-made points! With respect to privacy, be mindful that your experience of privacy is one of perceived privacy, and privacy from people who are actually present with you (like a driver).
Waymo itself states that their cars have overall 29 cameras “inside and outside the vehicle”, and that they are using the internal ones on a regular basis, for example to “check that in-car rules are being followed” (see source below). So: You were likely being watched, although maybe only briefly. Or the recording may be watched later, e.g. if the next passenger complains the car was dirty - to take an innocent example.
And beyond that: While Waymo states explicitly that they do not use the cameras for identifying passengers via facial recognition, this is obviously a statement that one needs to trust, and that describes current practices. And we are observing in many places how fast current practices can become fragile…
A revolution it certainly is, and I fully feel the everydayness of it. But like so often, there may be some not-so-visible parts to it, and “potentialities” for future adjustments.
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