Robotaxis Are Making Enemies as They Go Around San Francisco
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Just before Patti Smith took the stage in San Francisco this month, the emcee thanked sponsors, including robotaxi company Waymo.The audience booed, reflecting the hostility that's growing in the city for one of tech's most-watched industries. There was the recent incident when a fleet of driverless vehicles froze and blocked traffic during a Friday night concert at North Beach. Days later, an autonomous car got stuck in wet cement at a construction site, and then a robotaxi crashed into a firetruck responding to an emergency call. Weeks earlier, pet lovers were mortified when a vehicle struck and killed a small dog. The mishaps are adding to traffic and safety concerns over driverless vehicles, which zip around the city's streets surrounded by sensors and cameras, collecting dat...