Timothy B. Lee
Journalist with a computer science master's degree who has written for the Washington Post and Ars Technica and now publishes Understanding AI. He reads self-driving crash reports one by one and has been putting dated, quantitative judgements about Waymo and Tesla on the record since 2023.
Timothy B. Lee did not write this page.
We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.
Filter All topics · Newest first
-
Their wordsI wish Tensor the best, but I think this is going to be a hard sell.
↗Why it might not make sense for you to own a self-driving carunderstandingai.org
- 10 months earlier
-
Their wordsThese videos exceeded my expectations. Tesla’s robotaxi rollout wasn’t perfect, but it went as well as anyone could have expected.
↗What I learned watching 78 videos from Tesla's Austin robotaxisunderstandingai.org 1st of 2 in this piece
-
Our reading
A good robotaxi demonstration in one city does not mean the company is ready to scale the service.
Their wordsBut I don’t think Tesla’s accomplishments over the last two weeks—impressive as they are—mean that Tesla is ready to quickly scale up its service.
↗What I learned watching 78 videos from Tesla's Austin robotaxisunderstandingai.org 2nd of 2 in this piece
- 3 months earlier
-
Their wordsEven if we assume all three of these crashes were Waymo’s fault, that would still mean that a large majority of the 38 serious crashes were not Waymo’s fault.
↗After 50 million miles, Waymos crash a lot less than human driversunderstandingai.org
- 10 months earlier
-
Their wordsSo Tesla hasn’t found a different, better way to bring driverless technology to market. Waymo is just so far ahead that it’s dealing with challenges Tesla hasn’t started thinking about.
↗On self driving, Waymo is playing chess while Tesla plays checkersunderstandingai.org 1st of 3 in this piece
-
Their wordsBut while access to more data is certainly helpful, it’s not a magic bullet. One issue is that the data Tesla collects is unlabeled.
↗On self driving, Waymo is playing chess while Tesla plays checkersunderstandingai.org 2nd of 3 in this piece
-
Their wordsIf Waymo vehicles were constantly asking for remote guidance, Waymo might need to hire so many remote operators that it negates the cost savings that come from not needing a driver.
↗On self driving, Waymo is playing chess while Tesla plays checkersunderstandingai.org 3rd of 3 in this piece
- 9 months earlier
-
Their wordsBut the evidence for better-than-human performance is starting to pile up, especially for Waymo.
↗Driverless cars may already be safer than human driversunderstandingai.org