The idea of leaving a note in a self-driving taxi to find a coworker or lover


by waltarrrrr

In self-driving taxis, since no one is driving the vehicle, the center console next to the driver's seat tends to become dead space. The Washington Post reported that people are using it to place handwritten notes for job offers or romantic partners.

Tech workers are leaving notes in robot taxis seeking workers and lovers - The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/04/12/waymo-handwritten-notes-jobs-ads/

While riding in a Waymo robot taxi in San Francisco, one X (formerly Twitter) user noticed a note left in the center console, took a photo of it, and shared it on social media.

The note in the image attached to the post reads, 'We are looking for a Senior Software Engineer to work on AI/ML projects and build things together,' along with the address of the website of Influur, a marketing company based in Miami, and the email address of the company's CEO, Alessandra Angelini.



As a result of this modest job ad, Angelini received 60 resumes. 'It was a pretty successful old-fashioned job ad,' he told The Washington Post.

A few days after Angelini's idea went viral on X, another X user discovered a note in a Waymo car looking for a partner.

The note reads, 'To single women and single friends: 26-year-old male, 5'9' (5'10' on a good day), works in tech but that's not all I am. I run marathons. If you're close in age and interested, text me 'mango.'' It also includes a contact number. 5'9' is about 175cm tall.



In the tech capital of San Francisco, there are billboards calling for people to 'stop hiring humans,' while major AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic are rushing to develop 'AI agents' that do jobs for humans and 'AI companions' that fill emotional gaps in place of human interaction.

AI startup's dystopian ad urges people to stop hiring humans sparks controversy - GIGAZINE



Meanwhile, The Washington Post argues that these analog methods of seeking work or love highlight the difficulty of finding quality human connections and the need to rely on basic methods like handwritten notes for taxis.

'Younger people are looking to return to a simpler time when it comes to dating,' Damona Hoffman, an author and online dating course creator, told The Washington Post.

However, while using a robot taxi as Cupid is a good idea, Hoffman says it's not very effective.

'This approach doesn't reach a critical mass , and it's unlikely that there are enough car occupants who would both qualify and take the risk of texting a stranger,' Hoffman said.

The 26-year-old man who left the note did not respond to requests for comment from the media, but a Waymo representative said, 'I am honored to be driving mobility forward both personally and professionally.'

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