The year is 2025, and you’re running late for the most important exam of your life! Did I mention you forgot to study last night too? How will you ever find the time to study? Well, you’re in luck. Rather than grabbing your keys as you leave the door, you simply and calmly grab your backpack, coffee, and sit in your self driving vehicle. With a simple press of a button, you back out of your driveway with your face already buried in your book. You drive away to campus without any hesistation on the vehicle you are in. With the extra time to study and not driving, you end up doing great on the exam! This certain scenario may seem unrealistic, but it’s not as far away as one may seem. The technology of the self-driving vehicle has already advanced at a rate faster than people may have thought. Tesla for instance has an “auto pilot” feature in some vehicles, allowing the driver to remove their hands from the wheel during highway driving. The vehicles use 3D cameras, navigation, and more to update their surroundings in real time, ensuring a safe ride for the passenger. Companies such as Uber have already been testing this tech for months now, wanting to perfect it as soon as they can. Even though the technology is almost all there, one question always come into play: what about the ethics of an AI machine? For example, what if a pedestrian illegally crosses? Does the car swerve and strike somebody on the sidewalk? Or the person in the road? There are many situations like this that can happen, and the opinion will vary on whoever you ask. With this simple question of morality, the growth of the self-driving car has been hesistant to some. In long term though, many predict the vehicle to increase safety and lower the amount of deaths caused by traffic accidents. Over the span of this project, I hope to share opinions from both ends of the debate, helping you create your own opinion on the future of self driving vehicles. Additionally, I will be sharing my own opinions on the future, along with facts from multiple sources touching on subjects such as the dangers, the potential, and technology the self-driving vehicle holds. In conclusion, if the scenario above were available to you, would you get in the car without checking on the street to ace your midterm?

Well, how does all of this tech work to make a self-driving vehicle actually go? In the video, examples are shown of the car in action, along with set-backs and the future being discussed.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2018/03/29/self-driving-cars-uber-crash-toyota/468804002/

Short Story / Mock Interview with Self-Driving Vehicle Expert

With Uber's incident in mind from the video, a negative or indifferent opinion may be easy to form around the self-driving tech. Rather than making a conclusion, listen to what this important CEO has to say about the conversations about the vehicle.

With my research coming this far, I entered the building with no choice but to keep the company name anonymous. With self-driving vehicles being such a split topic, the cooperation doesn’t want any wrong ideas to spread across the media. As I entered, I was met with photos on the wall of self-driving vehicles, and television screens portraying examples of the self-driving car in use. After being checked in, I stepped in an elevator that went up for what felt like forever. Finally, I stepped off and was placed directly in an office with countless awards, plaques, and pictures with what I assumed to be very important people. Then, a chair turned…startled, I said:

Me (M): How are you feeling today, Self-Driving Expert? (Remaining anonymous for safety)

Self-Driving Car Expert (S): Different but hopeful. Please, take a seat.

M: Thank you! Expand on that idea. What’s making you feel that way?

S: It seems that this current technology is ahead of its time, and some people are having trouble understanding it.

M: Yes, I can see why. When most people think of future they think of a self-driving car!

S: Of course, and I believe that’s part of the issue. The people that envision that future imagine a complete utopian society…and being realistic that society is very unrealistic!

M: So, do you feel like people are doubting the “trial and error” method this vehicle must go through?

S: For the most part, yes. All vehicles are equipped with numerous cameras, GPS, and sensors allowing it to react to its environment around it instantly. Rather than mis reading its surroundings, most to all incidents involving these vehicles have been on the “other side” of the incidents or collisions.

M: I agree with you on that one. Back to the idea of the utopian belief, some think this technology should be instantly perfect, which is not entirely the case. Everything requires the trial an error method to some extent to finally “perfect” it.

S: Indeed.

M: Changing subjects a bit, what do you think of the Tesla semi-autonomous technology?

S: I personally think it’s great. It is the closest tech we have in manufactured cars to the entirely self-driving car. It is definitely a step in the right direction.

M: Agreed! Elon Musk in a genius…his effort and success in the field has been unmatched in the last few years. Speaking of Mr. Musk, Tesla’s auto pilot was in the news recently for some ideas we’ve touched on. A woman rear-ended a fire truck at around 60 MPH and walked away with a broken ankle.

S: That’s unfortunate news, glad she is safe.

M: Same here. But here’s the interesting part that relates to our discussion. Of course, Elon was instantly met with backlash, claiming the auto-pilot feature should be shut down due to it not stopping when it should.

S: Wouldn’t expect anything different after an incident like that one.

M: Musk, who is active on Twitter, replied to one of these claims by stating “It’s super messed up that a Tesla crash resulting in a broken ankle is front page news and the about 40,000 people who died in US auto accidents alone in the past year get almost no coverage” (Musk).

S: Yes! Yes! Musk and I are on the same page, we would be friends.

M: I think so too! So, with time running out, what would you like to leave the readers with?

S: Hmmm. I would hope for people to think about Musk and I’s words and give this technology a chance. It is here to help, and not hurt. Tesla has already achieved it to an extent, imagine it in 5-10 years! Amazing stuff.

M: One more quote I have if you wouldn’t mind speaking on it. Waze CEO “Mr. Bardin said the app can help reduce congestion and decrease transportation costs by making carpooling more affordable and convenient” (Shalev). Do you think this is a step in the right direction or straying away from the “true” self-driving experience?

S: That man is spectacular as well. It’s hard to disagree with somebody with as much knowledge as him, but I believe having technology like that built into the car would be amazing, and most likely make the vehicle more desirable.

M: It is spectacular to think about the exponential growth the technology can and will continue to have. Thank you for your time.

https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3727598,00.html

Analytical Paper

After hearing what a "very important CEO" had to say about the technology, let's hear what real authors think about self-driving vehicles fitting into our world today, and in a few years out. Additionally, these ideas are analyzed, using ideas from the previous artifacts.

After my "interview" with the professional, I had many ideas to take in. Self-driving vehicles may arrive sooner than most suspect, as the technology has proven it is capable of driving the open road. With this in mind, I predict the self-driving technology to be accessible to the public in no later than 15 years. Just this morning, The New York Times published an article titled: “Self-driving cars are inevitable, you’re going to pay for them, and you only have yourself to blame.” Throughout this article, author Christian Wardlaw references a number of surveys, concluding that most people are unwelcoming to the self-driving technology. Wardlaw believes that “The hype and controversy surrounding Uber’s Arizona crash, which marked the first time a pedestrian was killed by a fully autonomous self-driving vehicle, has negatively colored public perception of the technology” (Wardlaw). Since Uber’s recent news of announcing they will resume testing in Arizona, that statement has fell flat has Uber has stopped fully testing the self-driving technology in Arizona. Still, with unwelcoming people in mind and the recent incident, the author still concludes “That autonomous vehicles are coming, whether you like it or not. You’re going to wind up paying for the technology, too, whether you like it or not. And while self-driving vehicles may never reduce the death toll to zero, they’ll definitely cut it by a significant amount” (Wardlaw).

Another author on the subject, Saeed Elnaj, for Forbes also believes a similar future for the technology. After explaining how Waymo, the Google self-driving vehicle has continued its testing in Arizona and applied for a permit to do so in California, the author adds “The technology seems to be ready, and I think it may be adopted sooner than some expect” (Elnaj). Elnaj even gives an exact timeframe of when he believes the technology will become a part of everyday transportation: “When looking at the adoption timeframe question, I think driverless technology will have high adoption by 2022 due to a confluence of economic, social and demographic forces along with technological innovations” (Elnaj). Another interesting point Elnaj makes is that “It is also possible to imagine an era where we can subscribe to a monthly transportation service similar to the way we subscribe to cable or internet services today with a predefined price, distances and preselected destinations” (Elnaj). Originally, in the future with self-driving vehicles, I imagined them being the next dealership show car. Instead, the author’s ideas of a monthly subscription service make sense as more technology is moving to subscription based (Netflix, Spotify, YouTube Red). Elnaj, like myself, overall seems hopeful for the self-driving vehicle’s future, and brings up new ideas to reinforce our claims.

Personally, I can also see the technology being apart of transportation within ten to fifteen years. With Google’s testing continuing, and now expanding, it’s inevitable the tech is here to stay. Like author Saeed Elnaj said, the vehicles will ultimately help the economy, society, and more. Though it is easy to go against the tech for recent accidents, the exponential growth and potential it holds will most likely learn from the mistakes it has made, and better the long-term issue of traffic accidents. In conclusion, authors Christian Wardlaw and Saeed Elnaj reinforce my claim of the tech being ready in fifteen years by bringing new ideas and claims to the conversation. When asked about the topic, what would your response be?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2018/05/24/the-uber-accident-waymo-technology-and-the-future-of-self-driving-cars/#b32dc678148c

http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/street-smarts/consumer-confidence-autonomous-cars-article-1.4006105

Conclusion

It’s hard to imagine a transportation system that humans themselves don’t drive, but one that can do anything from turn its headlights on to changing lanes to exit a highway. No matter how taboo this idea may seem, the technology will be concrete in Western society in close to fifteen years. In the intro, a scenario was written to capture what this future may be like. Running late? Eat or study in the car. Can’t find parking? The vehicle can pick you up at a designated time. Through this tech, everyday small hassles will become more convenient to the average person. In the video, we saw how a self-driving car works, drives, and the backlash the vehicle has gotten recently due to Uber’s incident in Arizona. Still, with this negative spotlight the technology has received, the mock interview and short story reinforced that the technology is here to stay with statements from Elon Musk and Waze CEO Noam Bardin. Throughout the analyzation, new claims and different voices were brought in to reinforce this idea, and even gave a similar prediction of fifteen years. Overall, throughout this web story, I hope indifferent opinions on the self-driving vehicle were changed, and positive ideas were reinforced. Next time you get into your car, hand on the wheel, driving in traffic, think of what it would be like to relax on your commute and not stress whether you’ll make the James St. exit. No matter what, self-driving cars are here to stay!