Uber’s CEO argues that AI mistakes should be acceptable

Uber’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi joined other tech leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week. At the event, he made an argument for the role of AI in the innovation of the transportation industry. 

During a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum, Khosrowshahi addressed the role of artificial intelligence in the transportation industry. In his speech, he proposed that society agrees on an acceptable error level from AI applications in the physical world. 

Speaking on the current reality of road facilities, Khosrowshahi argued that autonomous systems could help improve the safety of road users by eliminating human distractions. He believes that the future of transportation is “autonomous, electric, and shared.” 

Uber’s CEO sees AI as the future of transportation  

Uber’s Dara Khosrowshahi has actively championed the importance of AI transportation technology, and recently, the CEO got to share his vision for the future of the transportation industry. 

Khosrowshahi emphasized the need for society to determine an acceptable error level for AI systems operating in the real world. “Part of humanity is its flaws, and we accept humans are going to make mistakes,” he said.

During the panel discussion, Khosrowshahi posed a critical question: How much better than a human being does AI have to get to gain societal acceptance? 

The integration of AI into our daily lives continues to be a discussion that raises countless opportunities and challenges, especially with the evolution of technology. What began with APIs has now expanded to self-driving cars. 

Apple had to recall its AI feature due to reports that it was misleading users with false push notifications and made-up news stories. Google users also complained of receiving wrong results from their AI applications. 

AI safety and human inefficiency 

During his discussion, Khosrowshahi also recognized AI’s potential to make mistakes. He pointed to the safety record of the autonomous vehicle company, Waymo as an example of the safety of AI technology over human efficiency. 

Waymo produced a report published in December in partnership with the Swiss Reinsurance Company stating that Waymo’s fleet of self-driving cars is safer than human drivers. 

It is noteworthy that the CEO did not use his company’s fleet of self-driving cars as an example. Uber company had several issues with some of its autonomous vehicles, which led to tragic incidents. 

Waymo also issued a recall last year after two of its cars crashed into a pickup truck. Tesla’s autonomous fleet has also had multiple incidents, including car crashes and cases of vehicles catching fire. 

Google’s chief investment officer, Ruth Porat, responded to Dara Khosrowshahi’s comment on the safety record of Waymo’s vehicles, saying that while Waymo’s technology was “meaningfully safer” than that operated by human beings, “there is more forgiveness when it’s a human” making a mistake.