In NYC, Waymo Comes to a Stop. What’s Ahead for Driverless Cars? We are excited to begin sharing insights from our economic policy team as they relate to the latest city news. Jaylexia Clark, CNYCA's labor market analyst, writes why Waymo's pause on testing self-driving cars is an opportunity to strengthen worker protections against AI. This April, during a trip from LaGuardia Airport to Manhattan, I spoke with Uber driver M. Khalid about the growing debate over autonomous vehicles and Waymo’s ongoing attempt to expand to New York City. Khalid, who has driven in New York City for more than two decades and witnessed Uber’s arrival firsthand, described Waymo as part of a broader pattern: technology companies enter the city’s market and accumulate vast amounts of wealth, all while workers absorb the economic consequences. This was a story I knew all too well, as a researcher focused on AI’s impact on workers who are already marginalized in today’s rapidly changing economy. Interviews I conducted with rideshare drivers and rideshare labor organizers in Chicago reflect that drivers suspect the tech platforms they depend on are working “against workers” to maximize the platforms’ profits. Eliminating the driver altogether is a continuation of those suspicions. In New York City, however, we are in a rare pause regarding the impact of driverless vehicles: On March 31, city and state permits that allowed Waymo, which uses ML (machine-learning) algorithms, to test its driverless taxis expired, and it’s unclear what will happen next. In several U.S. cities, autonomous vehicle deployment has already displaced rideshare and taxi drivers. New York City, however, remains a significant barrier to expansion because current New York State vehicle and traffic laws still require a human operator behind the wheel. My research suggests that whenever the next flashy tech company comes knocking,