What Waymo makes you think about...

The driverless electric taxi "Waymo" that I saw in San Francisco surprised me a lot. Waymo, a subsidiary of Google's parent company Alphabet, is Tesla's main competitor in the autonomous driving sector. Waymo's strength lies in its flawless operation in urban traffic. The 700 robotaxis on the market carry approximately 100 thousand passengers per week. It was very exciting to see driverless vehicles that work just like a human brain, stop at the famous stop signs on American roads, know who arrived first and who should go, and can even pass you at any moment by overtaking when they find the right conditions on the main road.

I thought for a moment... For example, has it been taken into account how these vehicles would react to unexpected situations in a chaotic traffic system like ours? There is no such problem in America because rules govern life and behavior. For example, there are no traffic checkpoints anywhere, but people generally do not drive under the influence of alcohol. Because the penalties are very heavy... Or, when several vehicles arrive at the stop lines at a four-way intersection at the same time, whoever arrived first is given the right of way by the others. Even trash is thrown into the correct bin according to its type with great care, and no one makes a mistake in this regard. At least, they try not to.

There is a saying that Americans use to reflect the importance of rules: "Structure influences behaviors." It can be translated as "Structure influences behavior." In some definitions, it is also said to "determine." The structure here is actually a whole that encompasses rules, laws, the system, and all its gears.

Sometimes, similar to the chicken or the egg dilemma, debates continue about whether structure influences behavior or behavior influences structure. In the end, it can be said that both influence each other. But it is a general consensus that structure makes behaviors similar even if the people change.

Have you ever wondered why different people working in the same positions in corporate companies or government institutions behave in similar ways?

No matter how different their personality traits may be, the authorities and rules created by the positions often ensure that people behave similarly. In fact, the explanation for this situation, at least in part, lies in the system determining the behavior.

This issue brought to my mind the late Bülent Ecevit's speech on the 1968 budget while he was the Secretary General of the CHP, and his subsequent publication of this speech as a book titled "This Order Must Change." During the days of the new constitution debates, Ecevit did not say "this constitution must change," he said "this order must change." The order is also a set of rules. The late Ecevit's approach was eye-opening.

What we need most today is an order based on rules and strong institutions. For example, if our political system, which has suffered a lot from the transfer of members of parliament in the past, had brought the political ethics law to the present day, we would not be experiencing the problems of 30 years ago today.

We went from Waymo to where, didn't we? Ultimately, if there is no system where rules determine behaviors, even the highest technology, or even the best constitution, will not be of any use to you. The moral of the story.