This is the fourth and last (for now) post about the possibilities and consequences of self-driving cars. Today, I want to dive into the not-so-obvious possible consequences of a future with ubiquitous autonomous cars.
The urban environment
As mentioned before, I can only see self-driving cars taking off if they are electric cars. Their use would directly lead to reduced urban air and noise pollution. Another maybe not-so-obvious advantage would be that without petrochemicals, stormwater runoff from streets could much easier be cleaned and then be reused for irrigation, flushing our toilets or to wash our cars and more. Today, a lot of it ends up in treatment plans or is discharged untreated into rivers that remove the water out of the urban areas.
This is particularly interesting for drought-plagued cities like Los Angeles because it would allow retaining a lot of the stormwater, which could then help to maintain the additional parks and other green areas that could replace many parking spaces. More green spaces and more moisture will improve the urban micro-climate.
Without the expense of drivers, small street-sweeping cars could drive around the city and keep it clean and inspect it at the same time. The result would be a much cleaner and safer environment.
All these effects combined would then likely reduce the occurrence of many illnesses like Asthma or stress-induced ill health.
The human driver as a problem
Let’s face it: we are terrible drivers. Accidents happen all the time. Guess what might happen if we see a reduction in accident rates with increasing numbers of self-driving cars? It may become illegal to drive yourself on public streets.
Social structure
As I wrote yesterday, we may lose almost half of our workforce due to automation in the next 20 years. We will probably replace those jobs with jobs we can’t even imagine. 30 years ago only a few if any at all have imagined what a professional YouTuber, Uber driver, E-book author, or Internet Attorney would be. But what if we don’t replace those jobs?
What if there is no need to replace them because our social structure changes so much that the typical 9 to 5 jobs completely disappear? Imagine a world where machines accomplish all activities that are tedious labor. Work could become redundant. Having a job with defined hourly pay is actually a relatively new concept that was brought about for the masses with the Industrial Revolution. Maybe we transition into a new phase where most people only work a few hours a day because there is not that much to do.
Freedom
If you get on a bus today, you must accept where the bus is going. You have no power to change the route once you enter the bus. What if autonomous cars become a thing? In a scenario where cars are no longer owned by individuals, a lot will depend on who owns them. The distance you can go may depend on legislative or commercial boundaries.
Maybe there is a mandatory stop at the mall for 30 minutes before you can continue on your trip to your Grandma. Maybe depending on your credit score (which will be accessible via your thumbprint that you will need to board the vehicle) you’ll get different cars or accessible destinations. Will it be possible for you in the future to stop by the grocery store on the way to a business meeting when your employer pays for the ride? Will the right for mobility be coupled with certain conditions, like a healthy weight, paid taxes, age, political affiliation, etc.?
I guess we will see. Happy future!