Learning to live with Waymos

Waymo operates over 4,000 autonomous vehicles across 15 U.S. cities and recently surpassed Lyft's market share in San Francisco, with plans to expand to D.C., New York, London, and Tokyo. The company's self-driving cars retain steering wheels that move autonomously—partly for legal compliance but also because research shows passengers find the moving wheel reassuring rather than unsettling, as it makes the technology feel relatable and controllable. As Waymo scales up, Americans are grappling with the broader implications of autonomous vehicles and AI technology in their daily lives.