Waymo defended its use of remote assistants for its robotaxis after the testimony of one of its top executives during a Senate hearing went viral. Waymo’s remote assistants in the Philippines are all licensed drivers, English speakers, and have passed drug screenings. McNamara says its “critical” to distinguish Waymo’s operations from autonomous driving companies that do use teleoperators or remote drivers. Other companies, like May Mobility, use the Waymo method of having remote assistants who can send suggestions when problems arise. Update February 18th: A previous version of this story said that Waymo employed a total of 70 remote agents.