Alternatively titled, "I told you this would happen, remember?"
Everyone has been talking about driverless cars. The question nobody seems to bother asking: Is there even a point to this technology? I see multiple downsides with very few actual advantages. The promises are many - the ability to summon your car to pick your drunk self up, drive you home and park itself properly while you stumble up the staircase to your apartment. However this remains a fantasy, and what we now have is a confirmed fatality from a completely unproven and frankly half-baked idea - coming from a dedicated pot smoker that's saying something.
Uber Technologies Inc. has halted their tests of autonomous vehicles after one of their self-driving cars struck and killed a woman in Tempe, Arizona. Of course Uber's interest in this technology is entirely selfish and transparent: They wanted to perfect self-driving cars in order to replace their contract drivers (which on median, make $115 a month) and the result would be pure profit. Turns out it was a pipe dream after all.
I have said it before and I will repeat: Driverless cars are a technology that is fundamentally about control not about convenience. Google wants you to drive in their smart car so they can know exactly where you go and when. Uber wants to be a passenger in their virtual taxi. Perhaps there could even be autonomous pizza delivery vehicles for the big chains - you don't have to tip AIs after all. Here are some points to take into consideration about this new technology:
Cars driving with 0 passengers equals more cars on the road, more traffic and pollution
If someone is killed by a driverless car, who is responsible? We will find out soon.
It's bad enough when Windows crashes, what about car auto-piloting software?
Could the system be hacked (yes) and be used to harm the passenger or others?
Are you really too lazy or stupid to drive your own vehicle?
We all accept that with a big privilege (owning and driving a car) there are some responsibilities (blood alcohol below a certain limit, obey the traffic laws and wear your seatbelt). Being able to control your own vehicle should be one of those. Contrary to the hype, I think self-driving cars are one technology that will be spinning its tires for some time to come as we wrestle with the problems that need to addressed which are many-fold: technological, legal, ethical and practical.
As it stands, self-driving cars are an idea for the super-rich (top 1% of global income-earners) to solve a problem that never existed. How can I drive my car around with nobody in it? Turns out the problem is messier than we expected.