Los Angeles-based tech entrepreneur Mike Johns recently experienced an unsettling incident while riding in a self-driving Waymo vehicle in Phoenix. What was supposed to be a routine trip to Sky Harbor airport turned chaotic when the autonomous car began looping around a parking lot uncontrollably.
Unable to stop the vehicle or exit, Johns was left confused and frustrated as he contacted Waymo’s customer support for help. As the car circled the same island eight times, he began to question whether the system had been hacked or if he was experiencing a major glitch in the technology.
Initially, Johns thought the situation might be a prank, considering his background in technology and connections with innovative peers. However, as the car continued its endless loops, he quickly realized the problem was real. He described the experience as feeling like a scene from a sci-fi thriller.
As dizziness set in, he began recording a video of the event, later posting it to LinkedIn. In the footage, he can be heard expressing his disbelief, jokingly asking if someone was playing a joke on him while also voicing genuine frustration about his inability to regain control.
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Lack of Human Control Raises Concerns About Autonomous Vehicle Safety and Reliability
As Johns attempted to troubleshoot the issue, he spoke with a Waymo representative who advised him to use the Waymo app. However, she admitted that she had no direct control over the vehicle, leaving him stranded inside a malfunctioning car.
With a flight to catch, the experience became even more stressful. The lack of an immediate solution highlighted what he sees as a major flaw in current autonomous technology—the inability to override the system in emergencies.
After several minutes of uncertainty, the issue was finally resolved, and the vehicle corrected itself. Johns was able to proceed to the airport, narrowly avoiding missing his flight. Fortunately, his flight was delayed, allowing him just enough time to board.
Despite making it to his destination, he remained unsettled by the incident. He later expressed his concerns about the lack of human oversight in autonomous vehicles, even questioning whether the support representative he spoke with was an actual human or an AI-powered chatbot.
Optimism for the Future, but Safety Concerns Still Need to Be Addressed
Despite the alarming experience, Johns remains optimistic about the future of self-driving technology. As a futurist and AI expert, he acknowledges that autonomous vehicles are the future of transportation.
However, he believes there are still major issues that need to be addressed before the public can fully trust them. He described the situation as an example of technology being rushed to market without proper safeguards, stating that “glitches need stitches” before widespread adoption can be successful.
Waymo later addressed the issue, attributing it to a temporary software glitch that was resolved with a routine update. They assured Johns that he would not be charged for the ride.
While Waymo has successfully provided millions of autonomous rides in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin, incidents like this continue to fuel concerns about self-driving technology. High-profile accidents involving pedestrians, cyclists, and even animals have raised questions about safety and reliability.
For Johns, this experience became more than just an inconvenience—it provided firsthand insight for a book he is writing about AI’s impact on jobs, turning his ordeal into an unexpected case study on automation’s challenges.
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