Robotaxis pose a threat to London's iconic black cabs

60 Minutes Overtime Robotaxis coming to London pose a threat to traditional cabbies who memorize 25,000 streets to earn licenses .chip { background-image: url('/fly/bundles/cbsnewscore/images/chip-bgd/chip-bgd-60-minutes-overtime.jpg'); } By Anderson Cooper, Anderson Cooper 60 Minutes Correspondent Anderson Cooper, anchor of CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360," has contributed to 60 Minutes since 2006. His exceptional reporting on big news events has earned Cooper a reputation as one of television's preeminent newsmen. Read Full Bio Anderson Cooper, Aliza Chasan, Aliza Chasan Digital Content Producer Aliza Chasan is a Digital Content Producer for "60 Minutes" and CBSNews.com. She has previously written for outlets including PIX11 News, The New York Daily News, Inside Edition and DNAinfo. Aliza covers trending news, often focusing on crime and politics. Read Full Bio Aliza Chasan, Katie Brennan, Matthew Riley May 17, 2026 / 7:17 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google London's black cab drivers, already besieged by rideshare companies, may soon face another threat: AI-powered, autonomous taxis. Yet many drivers feel they can offer something that AI can't  – deep knowledge of the city's ancient streets and medieval alleyways. To get a cab license, drivers must pass the Knowledge, a 161-year-old test that requires memorizing  25,000 streets and thousands of landmarks and businesses. The exam process also tests an aspiring cabbie's ability to determine the shortest route between two random points, and articulate it on the fly. Tom Scullion, who's been driving one of London's black cabs for more than 30 years, says this knowledge is what makes Google Maps inferior to a black cab driver."It's like comparing a hot dog vendor to Gordon Ramsay," Scullion said, referring to the British celebrity chef.This knowledge will soon be tested like never before. Autonomous vehicles, powered by AI, aren't picking up passengers yet, but several tech companies are alre...