Opinion: Driverless cars need an off switch
Uber revolutionized the taxi industry by putting customers first. Now, with聽its pioneering use of automated vehicles in Pittsburgh, Uber is promising to聽transform mobility altogether.
The problem is that this time, they are losing聽sight of the very driver of their success: consumers.
In the much-hyped arms race to promote Autonomous Vehicle (AV) technology,聽industry giants have failed to engage consumers in the public discussion of聽these technologies. Robust, thoughtful debate regarding the implications of聽widespread AV adoption is not happening. This isn't just bad policy; it's聽bad business, too.
At best, the absence of meaningful conversation will result in聽a more difficult and costly transition, at worst it could create insurmountable聽challenges to widespread adoption.聽
When President Obama brings together technologists, scientists, and entrepreneurs in Pittsburgh聽Thursday聽for聽, when it comes to that city's rapid adoption of driverless technology, the people at the table need to consider the public.聽
It's clear consumers want a voice. In a soon-to-be published study conducted by , a聽consumer advocacy organization based in聽Washington, interviewees were adamant that they wanted a more聽meaningful say in the future of transportation.聽
Though they are excited about聽driverless cars, consumers remain apprehensive about the lack of control that comes along with the technology, how carmakers will address cybersecurity issues, and what it means for their own personal privacy.
Rather than seeing the future as a聽choice between automation and nonautomation, consumers said they wanted both, depending on their personal predilection. For instance, they聽reported being far more likely to volunteer to give up driving when聽it's task-oriented (such as driving to work), and less likely to do so when it's聽an outing for leisure (such as a trip to the beach). As one driver said in the study, "I聽don鈥檛 want to lose the experience of getting in that driver's seat, having that聽control panel in front of me, and feeling the car throttle at my command as I聽take the road."
Even when people are stuck聽in traffic, drivers report a sense of power at being able to take short cuts and聽change routes. In contrast, when they are passengers, consumers care more about聽convenience (encompassing both physical and mental ease), productivity, and聽timesavings.
In the 3TEC study, consumers said they were curious about self-driving cars, but assumed a聽personal ownership model. They imagined driverless cars as providing personal聽and private space, in marked contrast to the ride sharing fleets of聽driverless cars that manufacturers and tech companies have proposed.
Even when consumers imagine giving up driving聽altogether, according to the study, they were not willing to give up total control over what they view聽as their own private space. As one participant said, "[AVs] are like being a passenger聽in your own car."
It's clear that consumers are concerned about the changes coming with driverless cars.聽As one聽person put it, "Human beings need to be recognized, especially today,聽everybody wants to have their input influence things ... and to take that away is聽wrong."
The changes at our聽doorstep are not like the Civil Rights movement or the rise of Social Security. It's more akin to the聽Agrarian or Industrial Revolutions 鈥� entire sectors of society are聽going to be impacted and transformed. We can have all of the incredible聽improvements to our lived lives, but we are going to have to plan and get聽widespread support for that plan.
Without any meaningful conversation with industry leaders聽and policymakers, more consumers are already asking themselves if聽the growing trade-offs driverless cars are even worth it.
Sascha Meinrath is the Palmer Chair in Telecommunications at Penn State and director of X-Lab, an innovative think tank focusing on the intersection of vanguard technologies and public policy. Follow him on Twitter聽.
Georgeta Dragoiu is the founder of ,聽a consumer advocacy group that provides a voice for consumers to influence聽policymakers and industry leaders.
