Reflecting on Autonomous Vehicles
Learning about the ethics relating to autonomous vehicles was interesting. The material presented last week gave me several different perspectives and made me think about the larger impact that artificial intelligence (AI) will have on society in the future. Specifically, the presentations by Nico Larco and Dan LaBruna.
Before I watched their presentations, I never really thought about the consequences of adopting AI other than the typical fearmongering (no more privacy, robot overlords, etc.). I never thought about how urban planning and roadmaps would change; how people who aren’t mobile would benefit; and how the economy would change. As far as I cared, that stuff was already explored in the cyberpunk genre (Blade Runner, Shadowrun, etc.). After last week’s material though, I’m still have some fearmongering thoughts, but not with the AI itself; Max Tegmark and Sam Harris, separately, do a fantastic job explaining how it’s on us humans to develop AI in a way that emboldens us, not control us. Compared to Tegmark and Harris, Larco and LaBruna focus on more immediate ramifications that we can wrap our heads around easier.
Larco explains possible ways how autonomous vehicles will transform our cities, our society. “It became very clear to me early on how much the car has shaped our country, the way we developed, the way we live,” he states (Larco, 2018). Extending from this, Larco explains ways that autonomous vehicles will shape these things. This includes the reduction of parking space and a stronger desire to spread out. These both will have cascading effects that include dropping property values, more densely built cities, and increased road maintenance costs (Larco, 2018). These are things I never would’ve thought about before, and he makes a pretty good argument for doing so. Combined with the ideas presented by Tegmark and Harris, Larco’s call for people to think about the consequences of AI struck me.
LaBruna also focuses on more visible ramifications, albeit more positively. LaBruna discusses how autonomous vehicles will empower disabled, elderly people, and anyone else who cannot drive. Focusing on the elderly and disabled, LaBruna talks about autonomous vehicles will provide everyone with “independence based on mobility” (LaBruna, 2018). He believes that rideshares will significantly benefit from autonomous vehicles because they’ll be better able to accommodate these people. Currently, companies like Uber have to find drivers who have accessible vehicles that can meet the specific needs of the individual. Not only that, the drivers “have to forgo picking up other individuals” to better accommodate the disabled or elderly individual (LaBruna, 2018). It’s very unlikely for that to happen, so elderly and disabled people have to use paratransit. The problem with paratransit is often understaffed and underfunded, so it fails to provide the elderly and disabled with any sort of independence (LaBruna, 2018). Again, LaBruna believes current problems for the elderly and disabled can be alleviated with autonomous vehicles specifically fitted for them. And that’s a fair assumption.
Again, Larco and LaBruna really helped give me tangible ideas of what I should be thinking about within the larger context of AI. Those two presentations from last week’s material stood out and made me realize that there are benefits adopting AI.
References
LaBruna, D. [TEDx Talks] (2018, September). Is My Driverless Car Ready Yet? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnOBHnfT2h8
Larco, N. [TEDx Talks] (2018, October). How Will Autonomous Vehicles Transform Our Cities? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTOFMwKEg7o
