Historical Echo: When Automation Outpaced Trust
![muted documentary photography, diplomatic setting, formal atmosphere, institutional gravitas, desaturated color palette, press photography style, 35mm film grain, natural lighting, professional photojournalism, a weathered parchment treaty laid on a dark oak table, sealed with a wax emblem shaped like an eye inside a gear, side-lit by low-angle light casting long institutional shadows, atmosphere of hushed gravity and cautious consensus [Bria Fibo]](https://081x4rbriqin1aej.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/viral-images/408c3cff-8a8d-425d-95bf-0eca403bac81_viral_0_square.png "muted documentary photography, diplomatic setting, formal atmosphere, institutional gravitas, desaturated color palette, press photography style, 35mm film grain, natural lighting, professional photojournalism, a weathered parchment treaty laid on a dark oak table, sealed with a wax emblem shaped like an eye inside a gear, side-lit by low-angle light casting long institutional shadows, atmosphere of hushed gravity and cautious consensus [Bria Fibo]")
If autonomous vehicle interfaces prioritize reassurance over efficiency, then user acceptance may follow patterns seen in early elevator design, where symbolic presence became a non-functional but necessary component of institutional trust.
Back in 1897, when London introduced driverless lifts in department stores, there was widespread fear—patrons refused to enter, calling them 'vertical coffins'—until operators were hired not to run the machines, but to stand inside and reassure people they were safe; sound familiar? A century later, we’re repeating the same dance with robotaxis: the technology works, but we still crave a symbolic human presence, whether real or simulated. The difference now is that instead of hiring elevator attendants, designers are embedding trust through interface cues, ride explanations, and feedback channels—digital ghosts of the human operator. What hasn’t changed is our psychological need for accountability when machines make decisions that affect us. As with elevators, airplanes, and ATMs before them, robotaxis will eventually become invisible in their ubiquity, but only after they learn to speak our language—not just in routes, but in reassurance, reason, and responsibility[^1].
—Marcus Ashworth
Published February 26, 2026