Posted on 02/05/2026 8:25:20 AM PST by T.B. Yoits
Waymo‘s Chief Safety Officer disclosed Wednesday that some of the remote operators who assist its self-driving vehicles in navigating difficult scenarios are based in the Philippines.
Mauricio Peña, the company’s Chief Safety Officer, confirmed under questioning that the Alphabet subsidiary employs human operators abroad to provide guidance to its robotaxis when they encounter challenging driving situations. Ad ends in 5
Peña noted that the vehicles remain in control of all driving tasks at all times.
“They provide guidance. They do not remotely drive the vehicles,” Peña told the Senate committee. “The Waymo vehicle is always in charge of the dynamic driving tasks, so that is just one additional input.”
When pressed on how many operators are located outside the United States, Peña said he did not have the breakdown available, escalating frustration from senators.
“It just seems kind of curious that you don’t know that answer,” one senator responded, before asking in which countries the operators are located.
“The Philippines,” Peña replied.
The disclosure drew immediate pushback from lawmakers, who raised concerns about cybersecurity vulnerabilities, outdated information relays, and the qualifications of overseas operators.
“Having people overseas influencing American vehicles is a safety issue,” the senator said. “The information the operators receive could be out of date. It could introduce tremendous cybersecurity vulnerabilities. We don’t know if these people have US driver’s licenses.”
The senator also criticized the labor implications, noting that Waymo’s autonomous vehicles are already displacing taxi and rideshare drivers in the United States.
“It’s one thing when a taxi is replaced by an Uber or a Lyft. It’s another thing when the jobs just go completely overseas,” the senator added.
(Excerpt) Read more at eletric-vehicles.com ...
If he's quiet, it's might be because Tesla management is doing the same thing. It may just be a question of who the remote drivers are.
There is no quote in your #1 ...
At the 1:20 mark
Question: "Yeah. And so for me, that's fairly shocking. Waymo has critical safety employees who may need to intervene in a split second if a Waymo encounters an unknown dangerous situation located in the United States, but they are outside the United States. In what countries are these employees located?"
Dr. Mauricio Peña, Waymo Chief Safety Officer: "The Philippines."
Just what intervention do you think the remote operator in the Philippines ia doing in a split second? Flashing the driver's manual onto the screen? No, they're taking control of the vehicle.
Never said there was. It's the video at the link in Post 1. ("And in the video link in Post 1, the Chief Safety Officer of Waymo admits that Automated Driving Systems (ADS) are not automated.")
You can see the transcript of that question and answer in Post 44.
Well, the GOOD thing about this is that if you can navigate Manila traffic, there’s nothing in the US that’ll compare.
They will use the Philippines and other 3rd world countries as guinea pigs. Good idea!
It's the other way around. U.S. residents and drivers are the guinea pigs. Operators in the Philippines are the ones pressing the buttons.
That’s what I get for quickly scanning the article. :-)
Nothing about overseas drivers. In fact at 0:15 he specifically say there are no overseas drivers.
Yes, and then he later contradicted that statement with his answer to the question at 1:20.
“Yes, and then he later contradicted that statement with his answer to the question at 1:20.”
At 1:20 he says no such thing.
“Pinging those from the recent Waymo incident where a Waymo vehicle struck a child near a Santa Monica elementary school.”
Are you referring to the girl that darted out into the road between parked cars and not at the designated crossing zone?
The one that was not seriously injured due to the ADS quick reaction?
The one that may have been killed if a human was at the wheel?
In San Francisco, being rear-ended is a feature, not a glitch.
Or not struck at all when the human driver, had there been one, could see her running across the sidewalk, see the reactions of those around her, see her through the windshield, and stop the car before striking her.
All remote drivers and assistant drivers should be licensed in the state in which they are driving. That should be obvious.
“could see her running across the sidewalk,”
Could not due to the parked cars.
presumably the company hires overseas “drivers” because they’re cheaper
do they have knowledge and experience with USA, state driving laws and conditions?
or is their “input” to the robotic steering and braking based on the highway laws and conditions of their own home countries?
“All remote drivers and assistant drivers should be licensed in the state in which they are driving. “
No remote drivers with Waymo.
“or is their “input” to the robotic steering and braking based on the highway laws and conditions of their own home countries?”
They have no input to the controls.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.