Two days ago, I tweeted about a video that Markiplier uploaded where he played a game where he had to make the decision as to who would survive or die in a car accident where an Autonomous Car was involved. This made me begin to wonder about the field of Autonomous Cars and where the technology could go next.
Interesting video from @markiplier dealing with the topic of self-driving cars via a video game. #uccdh https://t.co/vUNCJIRgOe
— Kayleigh Falvey (@kayleighfalvey) November 23, 2016
As I’m sure you care all aware, Self-Driving Cars are not just things that could happen, they are indeed happening right now. Google has done pretty substantial research into the project and by using sensors and software to distinguish where the car is going and who is on the car, the self-drive car could become a very influential piece of technology. However, there are some flaws in the software that Markiplier highlighted in his video. For instance, if you were in a self-driving car and there was an incident where the car had to make the call whether to save the occupants or the people outside the car in the general area, who would the car choose to save? It is this kind of moral compass that the technology is missing right now and that could have serious repercussions if not addressed. Saying that however there are some incredible pros attached to the self-driving car since 81% of car crashes are due to human error then it would be wise to think that the number of car fatalities could decrease if enough people began to use the self-drive cars but as I have said there could be some issues with that too. Self-driving cars would also be hugely beneficial for people with special needs in order for them to get around independently and safely. The oblivious one would be that the application for a Driver’s Licence could be shorter as you mightn’t have to go through the same procedure’s, if any, to obtain a Driver’s License to operate the car.
Of course, the pure cost of putting a self-driving car on the road could be so huge, at first, that not everyone will be able to afford the new technology and thus make it exclusive to the elite of society. From a security standpoint, we are not sure how easy or difficult it could be to hack into the car’s computer which could lead to unknown consequences like data breaches.
Which I think is why this technology is so interesting as we don’t fully know what the full extent of this technology would be and yet it seems like it is coming just around the corner. So, should we be worried about it and are we prepared enough for it??? I’ll let you guys figure it out for yourselves!
