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Driverless cars were the future but now the truth is out: they’re on the road to nowhere
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 08 Dec 2023
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Technology
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I wouldn't bet against self-driving cars even now. It's fairly clear that existing AI technology is insufficient, but we're seeing such rapid progress in that field that a more advanced AI that can drive might be invented relatively soon.
A perfect self-driving car is still way worse than a robust public transportation system. People are starting to catch on to the fact that cars are pretty fucking annoying/dangerous and hoping on a train/bus is less stressful. By the time self-driving is completely ready a significant portion of people are not going to want them.
Sure, but a public transportation system only vastly improves the lives of millions of people. How is that supposed to increase the bottom line of the car monopolists etc, eh? Nobody's thinking how their selfish demands of "a comfortable life for the majority of people", "a livable planet for future generations" or "letting the bottom 99% of the world's population have a little money too" affects the richest few individuals on the planet - they might have to refrain from buying another couple dozen yachts or villas each year! Won't somebody think of the poor, poor billionaires!
Driving itself is stressful for some people but I'm not sure how simply being in a self-driving car is worse than being on a bus. I can see how public transportation might be cheaper than a self-driving taxi but I don't see how it might be better if price isn't an issue. Why would someone prefer a method of transportation that (1) isn't directly door-to-door (2) runs on someone else's schedule (3) is often much slower than driving and (4) has to be shared with strangers over a method of transportation that has none of those disadvantages?
That's easy:
You don't have a good self-driving car (yet).
Your comparison is: either being on public transport or on a level2/3 autonomous car, where you still need to watch traffic at all times and be ready to take over the steering anytime on very short notice. That is proven to be even more stressful than driving a normal car.
And that's going to be your choice for these next 100 years or so.