I’ve posted frequently about self-driving vehicles. It is my belief they’ll be here very, very soon and with their arrival, society will inevitably change.
The very bad news is that many people who have jobs driving vehicles, from taxis to Ubers to public buses to trucks, etc. etc. will find themselves out of those jobs.
This is sadly inevitable.
On the plus side: Vehicular accidents will drop, injuries and deaths will drop, traffic jams might become a thing of the past (self-driving cars, I’m assuming, won’t rubber neck), and people will have more money to use on other things.
About that last item I listed: With the arrival of self-driving vehicles, I envision a future where people won’t need to buy cars. Instead, they will use an app on their phones (or whatever) and summon a self-driving vehicle to take them to wherever they want to go and, once they’re finished at the place they were taken to (their job, the mall, etc.), they again summon a self-driving car to take them back. They will obviously pay for the use of the self-driving vehicles but I suspect the price will be quite low given the self-driving vehicles look to be small and very efficient.
With no need to buy a car, you obviously don’t need to spend money on insurance or fuel or car service (from oil changing to fixing a flat/replacing a tire, etc. etc.).
So, what’s keeping us from this future?
Regulation.
As with almost all new technologies, especially those that could potentially cause a person’s injury/death, the government has to look in on the matter and determine it is safe and reliable.
Already there are self-driving vehicles being tested all across the country and it is well known the Tesla electric cars have self-driving features people use even today.
The United States, however, isn’t the only country investing in self-driving vehicles. The below article, written by Annabelle Liang and Dee-Ann Durbin for AP, notes…
World’s first self-driving taxis debut in Singapore
It would appear each passing day edges us closer and closer to this big technological shift. What I found most fascinating in the article were these quotes, from Olivia Seow, who tested one of these vehicles:
“It felt like there was a ghost or something,” (Ms. Seow) said.
But she quickly grew more comfortable. The ride was smooth and controlled, she said, and she was relieved to see that the car recognized even small obstacles like birds and motorcycles parked in the distance.
“I couldn’t see them with my human eye, but the car could, so I knew that I could trust the car,” she said. She said she is excited because the technology could free up her time during commutes or help her father by driving him around as he grows older.”
Soon, people, soon.