Self-Driving Cars
I think rarely another topic is as symptomatic for the times we live in as the self-driving or autonomous car. What seems to be a nice gimmick at first glance encompasses the whole spectrum of societal change that seems unavoidable when current technological visions become reality. After all, a lot of once crazy ideas have become reality and deeply impacted how we live.
All of the big changes during my lifetime, e.g. the computer, internet, smartphones, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), in vitro fertilization (IVF), etc., just happened; I was not able to consider their impacts on my life or society before they became standard technologies.
It’s different for the self-driving car. The idea of an autonomous car is almost as old as the car itself. From that perspective, we’ve had a long time to prepare for its impact. But what are the consequences of ubiquitous self-driving cars?
Imagine some time in the future when self-driving cars are safe and affordable. How do you think self-driving ability (SDA) could affect our daily lives?