San Francisco mayor: ‘We should be the testbed for emerging tech’

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie expressed strong support for the city to serve as a leading testbed for emerging technologies, including autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, and healthcare tech. Speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt, Lurie highlighted the presence of Waymo and Zoox robotaxis on city streets and welcomed the upcoming entry of Uber’s autonomous vehicle services through partnerships with Lucid and Nuro. He emphasized that while San Francisco embraces innovation, safety remains a priority, noting that autonomous vehicle regulation is managed at the state level by the California Department of Motor Vehicles and the California Public Utilities Commission. Lurie contrasted San Francisco’s openness with other cities like Boston, which have considered banning autonomous vehicles, and pointed to Waymo’s proven safety record and its appeal to tourists as positive examples. Despite some opposition, such as from the Teamsters Union concerned about job impacts from self-driving trucks, Lurie maintained an optimistic stance on technology’s potential to bring jobs and investment to the city. He concluded by affirming San Francisco