Dawn of a new age: Autonomous Vehicles
Dawn of a new age: Autonomous Vehicles
An autonomous vehicle is one that is capable of sensing its environment and navigating without human input. More and more we are hearing of this technology and how it will change our lives, but will it change our lives for the better? Ford has announced they are intent to have fully autonomous vehicles in commercial operation for a ride-hailing or ride-sharing service beginning in 2021. Ford says they will be mass producing vehicles capable of driving fully autonomously within five years. No steering wheel. No gas pedals. No brake pedals. A driver will not be required. Also recently a convoy of self-driving trucks drove across Europe and arrived at the Port of Rotterdam.
The benefits and cost savings from a business point of view are obvious and staggering. Autonomous vehicles can go without needing breaks for food, bathroom, or rest. They will go all night and all day long. No wages to pay either. There will result in massive improvements to productivity, but will this help society as a whole or will it serve to kill the economy as mass job-loss is created? Think about all the jobs that are in the driving profession, cabs, buses, trucks... many are well paying jobs too. With the loss of so many quality jobs just around the corner can the remaining industries support the massive influx of out of work drivers seeking new employment? Also automation is popping up everywhere. We have self serve checkout lines at grocery store and fast food venues. If everything is automated and runs autonomously what will the jobs of the future be?
There are many questions to ask ourselves going forward. One thing is for sure... we are at the dawn of a new age that will change the topography of human kind much like the dawn of the industrial age did.
What questions should we as a society be asking?
What do you think of the new age?
What will be the disadvantages?
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Be careful what you ask for. Technology is a great benefit, but it has challenges and takes time to be refined. Take you PC for example. For decades systems were plagued with errors, faults, and issues. Remember the BSOD (Blue Screen of Death). Most of the time those problems could be resolved with a quick reboot and perhaps having to redo something in an application which was lost.
Now you want to have technology operate the acceleration, braking, turning, and safety of your vehicle? If something goes wrong, the consequence is not a reboot, it is a collision! Are people truly ready to hand over their lives to unproven technology? It seems a little rash. Perhaps we should move more slowly and be sure it will not be hazardous to our health.
I agree with you ultimus! I think a discussion needs to be had and to take things more slowly. Ive been a computer programmer since the early 80's and amateur robotics hobbyist. I understand the technology and quite frankly am scared of the reckless pass at which we as a species are progressing. Not to mention I have as a main occupation: professional driver. I will be retired before I loose my job to automation but I fear what the world will be for my children.
I think we will follow the Gartner hype cycle where we are now in the rapid upward climb of excitement, but will fall rapidly once we reach the peak and discover it is not as mature/safe as we thought.
agreed. ;)
The advantages far outweight the disadvantages with one key caveat: If sociopaths control the highest hierarchical level of the system, it will exhibit a lot of unnecessary, destructive malevolence.
I've long thought that autonomous vehicles would become the assassination weapon of choice in societies that have roads, whereas drones would fulfill that interim gap on the path to nanotechnology in undeveloped areas. I just read a novel, DAEMON, by Daniel Suarez (highly recommended!) that portrays this happening as a key plot element.
It's probably no longer cheaper to kill someone with a .50 caliber rifle bullet, even right now. Consider: the cost of the bullet, the rifle, the training, and the increased likelihood of getting caught, and the obviousness that a crime has been committed. However, cars run into cars every day on the highway, and everyone assumes it's just "a fact of life." There are few investigations capable of uncovering murder, especially if the vehicle responsible is not located, or is also apparently destroyed as part of an "accident."
In any case, DAEMON-type cybernetic systems are already ascendant. That's what the current government is: a sociopathic system that maximizes theft.
As I mentioned in a previous comment I know a thing or two about technology and have in the past been its greatest advocate. I have programed systems and built robots, However the older I get the less sure I am of the benefits of technology and more and more find myself wanting to disengage from said technology. I used to want to live in a 'Star Trek' universe... but now I desire a house on a lake where the most technological device I own to be a fishing rod beside me. LOL.