The newest enlargement to Grand Theft Auto On-line contains robotaxis from a fictional-yet-familiar firm dubbed “KnoWay,” whose sole objective seems to be wreaking havoc.
A trailer launched Friday exhibits KnoWay vans adorned with lidar sensors swerving by way of metropolis streets, wrecking different automobiles, and crashing by way of a billboard for the made up firm.
Whereas that’s all way more chaotic and harmful than even a few of the worst conduct that Waymo’s robotaxis have been responsible of, the in-game autonomous automobiles nonetheless resemble the corporate’s earlier-generation Chrysler Pacifica vans. The enlargement is named “A Safehouse within the Hills” and is obtainable beginning December 10.
It’s not clear if the vans within the trailer have been, in true Grand Theft Auto style, hijacked by playable characters, or in the event that they’ve gone rogue. It appears seemingly it’s the latter, although, as Rockstar Video games says gamers shall be inspired to “cease the event of a mass surveillance community in an all-new action-packed journey” as a part of the DLC. (The trailer additionally teases a storyline that includes an AI assistant named “Haviland,” so the tech world generally seems to be part of this specific storyline.)
Waymo has mentioned it’ll deny authorities requests for the footage its automobiles seize if these requests are “overly broad and illegal.” However its robotaxis have nonetheless drawn criticism for being a part of a rising surveillance state. That frustration has contributed to the corporate’s automobiles turning into a goal of a number of situations of vandalism. Waymo SUVs have been burned, smashed, and had their tires slashed in numerous cities over the previous few years.
Rockstar is clearly tapping into those self same dynamics right here, because the tagline for KnoWay’s “autonomous hailing system” within the recreation is: “We Kno the place you’re going.” It’s not arduous to think about some gamers of the DLC taking a few of their frustrations out on the digital automobiles as soon as the replace is launched later this month.
Waymo declined to remark.
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At TechCrunch Disrupt in October, Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana spoke out towards the vandalism, saying her firm was “very centered on working with regulation enforcement to be sure that we pursue the people who find themselves committing these crimes towards our fleet.”
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