February 10, 2026
Who’s really steering here?
Waymo exec reveals company uses remote workers in the Philippines
Comments split: Old news vs “who’s driving my car?!” panic
TLDR: Waymo says it uses overseas staff to advise stuck robotaxis, not drive them, and disclosed this before. Commenters mostly call it old news and media hype, with jokes about “Stadia for cars,” while a minority echo a senator’s safety concerns about offshore help—fueling a heated debate over transparency and trust.
Plot twist, but not really? After a Senate hearing where Waymo’s safety chief said the company uses remote helpers in the Philippines to give guidance when its robotaxis get stuck, the internet didn’t clutch its pearls—it rolled its eyes. Many commenters say this is standard practice for self-driving cars and has been public for ages, pointing to Waymo’s own blog post. The real drama? How the news was framed.
One camp is calling it a nothingburger: “this isn’t news,” says one user, noting every autonomous car phones a human when confused. Another crowd is side‑eyeing headlines that make it sound like overseas workers are literally steering cars from Manila. Commenters rushed in to clarify: it’s guidance, not remote driving—think “phone a friend,” not a joystick takeover. Cue the jokes: one quip imagined Google finally finding a purpose for its dead gaming service—“Stadia, but for cars.”
Still, the hearing’s tension—coming days after a child was struck by a Waymo in Santa Monica—sparked fresh debate over outsourcing and safety optics. Senator Ed Markey warned about “people overseas influencing American vehicles,” and that line lit up the thread. Defenders called fear‑mongering, skeptics called for transparency, and one blunt commenter blasted the “gotcha” crowd as “not very smart.” In short: old news meets new outrage, and the comments are driving the story.
Key Points
- •Waymo’s chief safety officer testified that the company uses remote assistance operators, including in the Philippines, to help autonomous vehicles in complex situations.
- •Dr. Mauricio Peña stated these operators provide guidance only and do not remotely drive the vehicles; Waymo remains responsible for the dynamic driving task.
- •The disclosure occurred during a Feb. 4, 2026 hearing of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on autonomous vehicles.
- •The hearing followed an incident less than two weeks earlier in which a child was struck by a Waymo vehicle in Santa Monica, California.
- •Senator Ed Markey raised safety and potential cybersecurity concerns about overseas operators influencing vehicles on U.S. roads.