Backchannel:
Today, average Americans spend almost two of their eight hours at work paying off their car, which they need to get to that job. Last year in the US, more than 38,000 people died and 4.4 million were seriously injured due to motorized transport. Farther afield, in Singapore, 12 percent of the island nation’s scarce land is devoted to car infrastructure. In Delhi, 2.2 million children have irreversible lung damage because of poor air quality.
Incredibly, we might actually get a chance at a do-over — of our cities, our fossil fuel dependence, and the social contract with labor — thanks to the impending advent of autonomous cars. Yes, their arrival is inevitable, but how they will impact us is yet to be determined.
The problem is, we humans are generally really bad at seeing the future, even when it is blindingly obvious. Self-driving and autonomous cars sound really fun, convenient and science fiction-y but we are ignoring the other side of the coin.
That article is nonsense. I can add that website to my list of ones to avoid.
“This new technology will free workers from the burden of having to expose themselves to the risks of a potentially dangerous job. Too bad it won’t help them find a way to support themselves once those jobs disappear.”
“we humans are generally really bad at seeing the future, even when it is blindingly obvious.” –> No. Things are only obvious in retrospect.