Autonomous Cars

Overall it seems like autonomous cars are on the verge of drastically changing things in our society, but for now we still need the technology to develop a bit more first. I really liked the idea brought up by LaBruna focusing on creating a much more inclusive world through autonomous cars. This is an issue I had not even really considered before, but it seems like such a vital part about allowing autonomous vehicles on the road. Independence is so tightly bound with mobility and it would be fantastic to help people who are elderly or disabled gain this independence back through the use of autonomous cars. A fleet of vehicles that do not require a driver can ensure people who normally are unable to drive now would have greater access to the world around them (LaBruna, 2018).

It was also really interesting to hear about how much autonomous vehicles can change our communities. Larco points out that cars essentially shaped how our communities are structured in the United States, so by massively changing motor vehicles it stands to reason it will have a massive impact on our communities as well. Communities now are so focused on parking spaces, but with autonomous cars that can simply drive around the block while you shop parking becomes less and less of an issue. This can result in land prices declining because of the availability of parking lots opening up. It also would have the potential to increase sprawl because further commutes will become more tolerable (Larco, 2018). These changes do raise some important questions. What environmental impact would having a cars driving around on their own have? Would even more sprawl cause even more destruction of habitat? With much less parking availability and more cars on the road, would traffic be even worse?

It seems like there are some really important issues to address before fully embracing autonomous cars. Yet at the same time there are some clear advantages to solving these problems beforehand, so we can ensure autonomous cars are implemented in a way that benefits us all.

References:

LaBruna, D. (2018, September 27). Is my driverless car ready yet? [Video]. TED Conferences. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=14&v=BnOBHnfT2h8&feature=emb_logo

Larco, N. (2018, June). How will autonomous vehicles transform our cities?[Video]. TED Conferences. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=30&v=tTOFMwKEg7o&feature=emb_logo