3 reasons to fear self-driving cars (even if they’re perfectly safe)
Reporting from Mountain View — When technologists meet up to talk about driverless cars, they get all dewey-eyed about the wonders ahead: A dramatic reduction in traffic deaths. No need for parking lots. Time saved, more convenience, less stress.
Maybe. But Paul Saffo, the California futurist, told attendees at a car technology conference in Mountain View on Monday that, like with any new technology, there will be bad stuff too. Such as:
Loneliness
When you don’t need to drive, you don’t even need windows. And some driverless car prototypes, he noted, don’t have them. “When you can pass through a city without seeing anybody or anything, it breeds social isolation,†he said.
Traffic jams
“Who believes self-driving cars will get rid of traffic jams?†He scanned a crowd of about 300. “Nobody!â€
As more uses are found for autonomous vehicles, “traffic jams will be worse than ever,†though “nobody will be driving.â€
Even less privacy
Driverless cars – powerful, connected computers on wheels, bristling with sensors, inside and out – will vacuum up data not just to drive the car, but for later monetization.
“If you order a Google robotic car, not only will they charge you for it — they will know where you started, where you ended, with a camera inside tracking your eye gaze to figure out what you’re interested in.â€
Professional futurism is more about informed speculation than precise prediction. With driverless vehicles, Saffo said, “We’re going to have lots and lots of more surprise than you can imagine.â€
Twitter: @russ1mitchell
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