The 1% worst human drivers are really quite unpredictable. You're never certain with any human driver whether they're going to drive like a maniac, but you do know you're not getting that with a Waymo.
With a human I can look at their face to see that they see me. How do I know a robot sees me? Do they have indications that say “I see you and won’t drive” like a driver looking at you in the face and waving?
With tinted windows and glare I already can't see like 75% of drivers. At least driverless cars reliably signal so I don't have to do pose estimation with the front wheels to cross the street. Also they aren't on their phones.
So answer my question, how do I know the Waymo sees me? With a human I can tell 90% of the time where I live (we have tint laws and stuff).
I can’t see trusting that a robot sees me, otherwise I guess I’m just giving deference to them now?
At least with humans I can see if they are distracted, I can yell at them to get attention, perhaps others. With a robot taxi, I can’t tell anything about it, and I’m a software dev so I absolutely don’t trust anything running software made by a corporation in search of profits, or any other software really, to operate a car in open roads. Not yet at least, maybe in a few decades.
Anything "can" happen. But having driven and cycled many thousands of miles I'm convinced the probability of being run down/driven into by someone who has made eye contact is a lot lower than by someone who has not, so eye contact is a useful signal. Like GP I'd be happier if robotaxis could not only sense me but also send me a signal to inform me they had (beyond just changing their driving behaviour, although that is in itself a useful signal too of course.)
