6 March 5 - 11, 2026 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents work, in my opinion, is over, but the real work still lies ahead of us,” said Bryant. ▼ TRANSPORTATION NOBODY BEHIND THE WHEEL WAYMO DRIVERLESS CARS NOW ROVING DALLAS, HOUSTON. BY KELLY DEARMORE A fter months of testing, driverless rideshare company Waymo is car- rying Dallas passengers in fully au- tonomous vehicles for the first time last week. Going back as far as November, people in and around downtown Dallas have surely noticed the white sedans bedecked with an array of sensors and cameras making their way around, albeit with a human behind the wheel. Waymo also began fully autonomous services in Houston, San Antonio and Or- lando on Feb. 24. “Waymo is serving more riders than ever, as we are on track to serve over one million rides per week by the end of this year,” Teke- dra Mawakana, Waymo co-CEO, said in a statement. “Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Orlando are critical to our plans, as we lay groundwork for service in 20+ cities. Each community has its own unique charm and transportation needs, and we’re eager to provide a safe, reliable, and magical way for locals and visitors to travel.” According to a coverage map on Waymo’s website, the cars won’t service the entire city, but they do come pretty close. From as far north as Loop 12 above University Park to the Bishop Arts District on the southern edge of town, riders can board a self-driving vehicle via the Waymo app. The driverless vehicle industry has en- joyed better times in Dallas over the past year than it did just a few years back. Things didn’t go so well for GM’s Cruise “robo taxi,” which stopped operating in 2023 after se- vere accidents in other cities grabbed head- lines, leading to the company’s license being suspended and its investigation by federal authorities. Avride, an Uber partner, has been testing its autonomous vehicles with people in the cars in Dallas since 2025 with- out any high-profile incidents. Waymo has had better luck thus far, how- ever. Waymo began fully autonomous ride- hailing in Austin in March 2025, and you can’t walk a city block near the Texas Capi- tol without seeing a handful of them buzz- ing around. Although Waymo cars in Austin have garnered headlines in recent years for less-than-desirable reasons, the overall sta- tistics are favorable when it comes to driver- less taxi safety. “Roadway safety for all Texans is quite simply one of the most important issues to- day,” Michael Daley, the Texas regional ex- ecutive director for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, told the Observer in November. “Autonomous vehicles hold the exciting promise of preventing deaths and injuries caused by behavioral factors, including im- paired driving, which contribute to the over- whelming majority of serious and fatal crashes in the U.S.” Even Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson had a few kind words for Waymo’s future in the company’s statement. “Dallas is excited for Waymo to launch op- erations in our city, providing Dallas residents and visitors with new, innovative transporta- tion options,” Johnson said. “The availability of Waymo’s fully autonomous ride service further cements Dallas’s reputation as one of America’s most innovative and dynamic cit- ies. Together, we are putting public safety first while building a more connected city.” ▼ EDUCATION MAJORING IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE? UNT WILL BECOME THE FOURTH TEXAS COLLEGE TO ADOPT AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE PROGRAM. BY EMMA RUBY In one of the first programs of its kind at a Texas college, the University of North Texas will offer a major in artificial intelligence starting next fall. The university’s Board of Regents ap- proved the new undergraduate program last week, citing workforce demand and student interest in existing AI courses as reasons for the launch. Currently, only Angelo State Uni- versity, Tarleton State University and the University of Texas at El Paso offer degrees in artificial intelligence in the Lone Star State. Each of those programs launched in 2025. “Everything in higher education moves a little slower than it does in industry,” David Keathly, associate chair of Undergraduate Studies for UNT’s College of Engineering, told the Observer. “But I do think we’ll see a surge [in AI programs].” The engineering school has offered elec- tive courses that explore elements of AI for years, said Keathly, and student interest has grown “across the spectrum.” The univer- sity already offers a graduate degree in arti- ficial intelligence, which has become more popular since the program started in 2021, as national attention on AI has grown. According to UNT briefing materials, the Dallas-Fort Worth region sees 2,000 job post- ings a month that require a background in AI. The median first year salary across the North Texas-based AI market is $68,208, a UNT analysis found, and the median fifth-year sal- ary is $105,335, signaling “good earnings po- tential” for graduates of the degree program. “Over this last year as so many different companies jumped onto the bandwagon of having their own large language models and tools available … that it was time that we of- fer students a pathway to really focus on this area,” said Keathly. “This has become a ma- jor focal area nationwide. People are listing these things in job titles.” Something that stood out to UNT offi- cials when considering an AI degree pro- gram was the number of companies not rooted in the technology sector that have be- gun integrating AI into their processes. Some have relied on AI to write code or manage Q&A chatbots on their websites, Keathly said. According to a 2025 McKinsey Global Survey, two-thirds of the nearly 2,000 companies polled reported using AI in at least one function. Because of the broadening scope of artifi- cial intelligence, some of UNT’s courses will be open to non-majors. An introductory course titled “Applied AI” will be open to all majors, Keathly said, and students will learn how to use the tools becoming more ubiqui- tous with the AI boom. Not only will that help familiarize students in alternative in- dustries with artificial intelligence, but it will also allow AI majors to network with students from those industries that are seek- ing AI expertise, said Keathly. Another course he believes will be pop- ular is titled “AI in Games.” UNT already offers a video game programming certifica- tion through the computer science depart- ment, and Keathly said the new course will explore the overlap between artificial intel- ligence and video games. AI majors will also be required to take a course that fo- cuses on the ethical considerations of arti- ficial intelligence. The department also sponsors a research group that is publish- ing findings on ethical consumption of AI and social responsibility when using the technology. “We have that [mindset] embedded in our department,” Keathly said. Wayno The driverless vehicles will be seen around town a whole lot more. Adobe Stock UNT’s new AI major will be from the College of Engineering. Unfair Park from p4 responsibility for providing transportation services in their communities. Residents advocated that sales tax returns be spent on reinforcing non-vehicular transit, in addi- tion to calling for Plano to create civic com- mittees to oversee the city’s transportation investments. “We need a permanent resident transit committee, similar to parks or planning and zoning or other committees, that can pro- vide feedback to this council, make recom- mendations for ILA-related projects and help you develop metrics for what does suc- cess actually mean in improving transit in our city,” said one resident. Earlier this month, the council tabled a discussion on a microtransit contract with Via, a company that provides similar ser- vices in Denton County and Arlington. Offi- cials had signalled that microtransit would be part of Plano’s transit picture regardless of the election’s outcome, either as an alter- native or a complementary service to DART. Council members voted 7-1 to approve the agreement at the meeting. Shun Thomas cast the sole dissenting vote. Plano will pay less than $4 million for Via services in 2026, rising to $8 million annu- ally upon renewal. The city has already allo- cated funds to cover the program in its current fiscal year budget. Further informa- tion on routes and services will be presented to council members at a later date. Similar to Arlington’s “Arlington On-Demand” Via branding, Council members voted to name the service “Plano Rides.” Addison and Farmers Branch’s city coun- cils will consider calling off May elections at meetings Tuesday night, with the Irving City Council expected to follow on Thursday. City officials in University Park have publicly stated they still intend to proceed with the election, while a spokesperson for the Town of Highland Park told the Observer that offi- cials would issue a statement later this week. Before city council members voted on the ordinance to cancel the election, Bryant said he views his work as unfinished. “It’s not perfect, but it is progress, and hopefully this council sees value in that work that we’ve done together… The hard
