Tekedra Mawakana, Co-CEO of Waymo: Building a Safer Way Home

Early Experiences with Self-Driving Technology

• The first experience with a self-driving car ride is recalled, where the individual had a vision of transporting people safely from point A to point B with no one behind the wheel, and they questioned what it would take for people to trust the technology 10s.
• The individual's first ride in a self-driving car was uneventful, and they felt safe, which led to the beginning of a pursuit to understand how to get other people to trust the technology 2m6s.
• A relatable moment is shared where the individual instinctively wanted to thank the driver after the ride, but since there was no driver, they awkwardly thanked the car instead 2m6s.

Childhood and Family Background

• The individual's early life, born in Mississippi and raised across the South, influenced their sense of ambition, with a strong sense of family and community, and a foundation of love and support from their big community on both their mom's and dad's sides of the family 4m37s.
• The individual's upbringing, with summers spent in Mississippi, allowed them to experience things they wouldn't have in the suburbs, such as feeding cows and pigs, and this had a significant impact on their life and who they are today 6m30s.
• The individual's background and family values, such as faith, family, identity, and culture, have played a crucial role in shaping their personality and ambitions, with their grandmother's phrase "you know whose you are and you know who you are" being particularly influential 5m40s.
• Growing up on a farm taught valuable lessons about the earth and where things come from, which had a big part in shaping ambition and understanding of the world, and this closeness to the earth was a huge part of the family's grounding 10s.

Education and Early Career Decisions

• The ambition to make anything with the available ingredients led to attending Columbia Law School, where the goal was ultimately to have a career in business, rather than becoming a lawyer 2m6s.
• The decision to attend law school instead of business school was influenced by a high school program that allowed working in an office, where a job at a law firm with lawyer Carol Clark left an imprint of hard work, ambition, and drive 2m6s.
• The experience at the law firm showed that with a law degree, anything could be done, and it wasn't necessary to decide on a specific career path right away, which was an attractive aspect of pursuing a law degree 2m6s.

Career in the Early Internet and Tech Industry

• After law school, a career path led to holding legal and public policy roles at iconic early internet companies such as AOL, Yahoo, and eBay, which was shaped by equally iconic leaders 2m6s.
• Graduating law school in 1996, the year of the 1996 telecoms act, provided a front seat to the evolution of the internet and the opportunity to figure out what it would mean, with complex issues including laws and regulations for transmitting copyrighted content online 2m6s.
• The career path involved constantly learning, growing, and building, with a focus on bringing discipline and order to emerging platforms and technologies, sparked by questions about ownership and regulation 10s.

Joining Waymo and Embracing Uncertainty

• The decision to join Waymo in 2017 was a significant risk, as it involved moving from companies with millions of users to one with no guarantee of success at scale, and required a shift from a mindset of hedging risk to taking a big bet 2m6s.
• The quote "if it doesn't terrify you, it's probably not worth it" resonated with the decision to join Waymo, as it represented a moonshot opportunity to work on a challenging problem and create abundance in an environment with unlimited potential 4m30s.
• The leap to joining Waymo was not just about the risk of the business or the change in compensation, but about taking on a new challenge and embracing uncertainty, and recognizing that the opportunity to work on a technology that could solve a major challenge facing humanity was too great to pass up 6m40s.
• The career choices prior to joining Waymo were driven by a desire for certainty and clarity, with a focus on being an A student, doing a good job, and working for companies with a proven track record, but joining Waymo required a willingness to step out of that comfort zone and take on a new level of uncertainty 8m10s.
• Taking a bet on something unproven requires trusting the small voice that tells you that everything you've done has prepared you for this challenge, and having self-belief is crucial in overcoming the louder voice that challenges your confidence 10s.

Leadership and Self-Understanding

• To position oneself for a significant role, such as co-CEO of Waymo, it's essential to know your craft, constantly learn, and understand yourself, including your relationships with ambiguity, hierarchy, and communication 42s.
• Ensuring a safety-first mindset in a company's culture, especially as it scales, involves building safety into the culture from the early days, putting it into the safety framework, reporting mechanisms, and modeling safe decision-making, rather than trying to build it retroactively 2m6s.
• Having a deep understanding of oneself and one's experiences is vital in making decisions and taking bets on unproven paths, as it allows individuals to bring their unique perspectives and tools to the situation 10s.
• The voice of experience is a reminder of everything an individual brings to a situation, including their victories, defeats, and lessons learned, and it's essential to listen to this voice when making decisions 1m30s.

Safety as a Core Principle

• As co-CEO of Waymo, it's crucial to prioritize safety in everyday decisions, which involves speaking openly about safety, pausing when necessary to reconsider plans, and making decisions that prioritize safe progress over rapid advancement 2m6s.
• The goal is not to make progress for its own sake, but to achieve real results, and educating the public about safety is a complicated conversation to have while having cars on the road, which requires a willingness to be held accountable 10s.
• The concept of "safe enough" is not sufficient, as 1.2 million people being killed globally on the roadways is unacceptable, and the aim is to improve the status quo, with a current reduction of 13 times in serious injury-causing crashes 2m6s.
• Safety is foundational and aspirational, but it should not be a floor or a race to the bottom, and the focus is on treating saving lives as an urgent matter, which is why the company has been rigorous and cautious in building the driver and scaling rollouts 2m6s.

Navigating External Challenges and Public Trust

• External dynamics, such as government regulations and public trust, are crucial in the heavily regulated space in which Waymo operates, and progress depends on navigating these factors 4m30s.
• Building something that doesn't fully exist yet requires bringing stakeholders along and imagining a new world, which involves engaging at all levels, including government, community, and other organizations, such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the National Safety Council 6m30s.
• Partnering with various organizations that have been working to make roads safe for decades is essential, as the mission is not just about Waymo, but about building the world's most trusted driver and making a positive impact on society 8m40s.
• Partnering with organizations that share the same goals allows for authentic and organic collaboration, increasing independence and safety, and this approach has been beneficial over the last 5 years 10s.
• Building trust with the public is crucial, and when crises occur, such as the recent recall of a vehicle that drove into a flooded roadway, it is essential to own the issue, understand what happened, and continually improve to maintain trust 2m6s.

Crisis Management and Public Communication

• Navigating scrutiny and crisis requires transparency, proactive engagement with regulators, and shaping the narrative to ensure that the public understands the actions being taken to address the issue 2m6s.

Business Model and Technology Differentiation

• The company's business model, which involves owning and operating its own fleet of vehicles, differs from that of its competitor Tesla, and this approach is driven by the goal of building a trusted driver that can be used across multiple vehicle platforms 2m6s.
• The company's focus is on building a generalizable driver that can power various applications, including ride-hailing, local delivery, and long-haul trucking, and this approach will enable the company to pursue multiple business lines and educate the public about the technology 2m6s.
• The company's technology is designed to provide a driverless experience, where users do not need a driver's license or to be behind the wheel, and this is a key differentiator from other products that may require human intervention 2m6s.

User Experience and Human Behavior in Autonomous Vehicles

• The development of autonomous vehicles is an experiment where people trust the technology beyond its capability, and they tend to engage in various activities while in the vehicle, such as applying makeup or shaving, because they are not focused on driving, 10s.
• The goal is to create a system where humans do not have to worry about the driving task, and they can freely use their time as they want, without being responsible for driving safely, 42s.
• The strategy is centered around making humans' lives easier by giving them free time, and the company has been disciplined about safety, which is the reason for its lead in the autonomous vehicle industry, 2m6s.

Consumer Trust and Market Positioning

• The company's focus is on building trust with consumers, who will ultimately decide which autonomous vehicle service to use, and this trust must be earned every day, 42s.

Impact on Employment and Workforce Transition

• Autonomous vehicles will displace many driving roles, but new roles will also emerge, such as fleet technicians, and the company is thinking about its responsibility in navigating this transition and finding ways to help people adapt to the changes, 2m6s.
• The company is working with its fleet operating partners to find ways to transition people into new roles, such as depot managers or fleet operators, and has seen success in moving logistics specialists and drivers into these new positions, 2m6s.
• The company is exploring ways to utilize people's available time to be helpful, particularly those working in gig economies, who may not have traditional 8-hour workdays available, but can still contribute in other ways 10s.
• There are three known truths about jobs: they will go away, they will change, and new jobs will emerge that did not exist before, with evidence of the latter already seen in markets like Phoenix and San Francisco where the demand for drivers has increased 42s.
• The company has seen a 7% increase in demand for people being driven and a 14% increase in wages for cab and limo drivers in their first year of operation in San Francisco, indicating a potential surplus that can benefit traditional jobs 1m14s.
• The company recognizes its responsibility in the conversation about how autonomy will shift the world of jobs in the future and is funding studies and job retraining programs, such as Tech Force, to address this issue 2m6s.
• Partnerships, like the one with Bronx Community College, are being established to teach the next generation of trade specialists how to work in the autonomous space and provide opportunities for traditional mechanic roles to transition into autonomous mechanics 2m30s.

Accessibility and Inclusivity in Autonomous Mobility

• To ensure access to the company's technology, Whimo, is not limited to big cities or affluent individuals, the company is exploring ways to partner with transit operators and provide incentives, such as credits for people using public transit, to make the service more accessible 4m10s.
• The company is committed to listening to communities and understanding their transportation needs to improve the service and earn trust, rather than simply replicating existing transportation systems 5m30s.

Challenges to Widespread Adoption

• The biggest obstacles to widespread autonomous driving in the United States are the readiness of the technology, particularly in cities with heavy snow, and the regulatory framework, with many cities not yet ready to regulate the technology 42s.
• The regulatory framework is a significant challenge, as municipalities need to figure out how to regulate autonomous driving, and this is holding back the launch of the technology in some cities 2m6s.

Future Vision and Societal Impact

• If Waymo accomplishes its mission, the world may look like a place where people have the option to drive or be driven, and teenagers may still learn how to drive for recreational purposes, but the need for personal car ownership may decrease 4m30s.
• In the future, people may decide whether they want to keep driving or use autonomous vehicles, and cities may become less congested with cars, allowing for more green spaces and community areas 6m15s.
• The development of autonomous driving technology may lead to a re-imagination of cities, with transportation planners redeploying funds into other important services, and Waymo is partnering with cities to make this vision a reality 8m40s.

Technological Evolution and Product Development

• The technology underpinning the Waymo driver is evolving, with the sixth-gen Waymo driver reducing the number of cameras from 29 to 13, but only reducing the number of LIDARs from five to four, indicating that LIDAR is still seen as a necessary component for safe autonomous driving 12m10s.
• The removal of humans from the fleet in October 2020 was a significant step, and it is believed that this decision was necessary to achieve the desired safety results at that time, with the company's world model now incorporating all the data collected 10s.
• The company is focused on costing down the product while maintaining its capability, and in the future, the technology will be integrated into personally owned cars, which will be different from the current experience, with people having various preferences that need to be considered 2m6s.

Sensor Technology and Safety Infrastructure

• The company uses a multimodal, multi-sensor system, including LAR, camera, and radar, and does not believe in eliminating any of these sensors, especially in the early days of autonomous driving 2m6s.

Building Trust in Skeptical Communities

• To earn trust from communities that are skeptical of tech companies and autonomous driving, the company needs to hire people who understand the skepticism and negativity that has happened in the past, and be deliberate in its launches to address the concerns of various groups, including those who have been excluded from mobility and early waves of new technology 4m30s.
• The company has taken steps to address the needs of people with disabilities, such as those who are vision impaired, by building tools into its system, including a honk feature to help them locate the vehicle, and it plans to continue listening, learning, and improving to build trust with its users 6m40s.
• The company's approach to building trust is to be humble, take feedback, and improve, with the entire team recognizing the importance of this approach in earning the trust of communities that are skeptical of autonomous driving technology 8m50s.

Personal Anecdotes and Hobbies

• The first car driven was a Volkswagen Rabbit, which was a stick shift, and the driver is proud of being able to drive a stick shift, a skill that was also required by their dad for their daughter to learn 2m6s.
• The favorite sport to watch is basketball, and this question was asked due to Waymo's partnership with Stanford Athletics 4m30s.
• If a Waymo could take the person on a road trip, they would want to go to Collins, Mississippi, where they were born, as long as the trip doesn't involve going over water 5m15s.
• A surprising hobby is roller skating, which is enjoyed at indoor old school roller skating rinks, and this activity is usually done on the east coast where there are still many roller rinks open 6m30s.
• When it comes to nervousness about driving, the son is not nervous, but the parent's presence in the car makes him nervous, to the point where he disinvites them from riding with him 8m0s.
• The ultimate goal and hope for impact on the world is to make driving safer, so that people, especially loved ones, can have a safe way home, and this goal is motivated by the desire to reduce the risk and stress associated with driving 11m30s.