"Tesla's doing it. So is Alphabet's affiliate Waymo. Nvidia, the semiconductor chipmaker, is on board, along with Israel-based Mobileye. Even Apple -- famous for arriving late to the new-tech party but eventually outstripping the competition -- is doing it. Everybody is getting into the autonomous-vehicle business these days.
Experts project that self-driving vehicles will account for about 12% of car registrations by 2030 and eventually will make up a large majority.
According to the General Services Administration Office of Motor Vehicle Management, 98% of automobile accidents in the U.S. are caused by human error.
I don't advocate slamming the brakes on the race to implement autonomous driving. But as Newton's third law of motion states, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. While the number of automobile deaths and injuries will be vastly reduced when the technology becomes widespread, there are some things I'm going to miss once we've made the transition to a world of driverless cars. Here are a few of those Newtonian unintended consequences.
For starters, autonomous vehicles are terrible for the chauffeur industry. Both the chauffeur (let's call him William) and his wealthy entrepreneurial boss (let's call her Sylvia) will be worse off. William will have to find another venue in which to deploy his impeccable attire and even more impeccable manners, including that dubious British accent. Losing a valuable confidant, Sylvia will have no one to complain to about her lackadaisical employees and her untrainable Pomeranian. It's a lose-lose.
Next, as Warren Buffett said in 2016, self-driving cars will hurt the auto-insurance industry. Automobile accidents are regrettably good for business.
That said, no one quite knows how the insurance industry will be affected. Insurers may try to recoup some of the lost revenue by charging more on policies for that behind-the-times, behind-the-wheel sliver of us that continue to do our own driving.
Third, there goes the old fender-bender excuse for arriving late to any important meeting. Gone too will be its close cousin, the "stuck in traffic" alibi. Thanks to increased traffic efficiency, we'll have to be much more creative in explaining away workplace tardiness.
Movie chase scenes? A thing of the past. And imagine the ending of the autonomous-vehicle-era remake of "Thelma and Louise." Instead of Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon sailing their 1966 Thunderbird off a cliff into the Grand Canyon, the scofflaw besties will be whisked to the closest police station, arrested and booked. Great artificial intelligence, lousy cinema.
You can't stop progress. Autonomous vehicles are the future. But like many innovations, self-driving cars will come at a price. I only hope the manufacturers will take their sweet time perfecting them so that we can savor these last years rattling down the bumpy, pot-holed road of the primitive present.
---
Mr. Opelka is a musical-theater composer-lyricist." [1]
1. Self-Driving Cars Are Progress at a Price
Opelka, Gregg. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 22 Feb 2023: A.15.
Komentarų nėra:
Rašyti komentarą