Why is that considered smoke and mirrors? Why have a human on board if they can’t quickly intervene? Maybe I’m missing some fantastical marketing claim that this image negates?
The "smoke and mirrors" thing here is having the driver seat empty. If you need the human on board to be able to quickly intervene, it would be much more convenient to put him behind the wheel.
But for marketing reasons, they prefer to leave the driver seat empty and equip the "passenger" seat with discreet dual-controls.