The Future of Autonomous Driving: Utopia or Dystopia?

In the comments on innovations and new developments, but also on vehicles that are considered politically incorrect in certain circles, one often finds a small but fine sentence: “Who needs that”.

Many things on our planet could be argued about, and indeed, just as many things are hardly needed. Diseases, poverty, pollution or wars, just to name a few. But this is about something else. About innovations.

My driver’s license, my car, my street

When it comes to autonomous driving, opinions differ. In science fiction novels of the early 20th century, cars were usually already autonomous (even in the air). In numerous science fiction films, the protagonists talk in cars that drive from A to B completely independently. And in many books about the bright future of mankind, the car of the future is also completely autonomous.

The meaning of individual transport does not lie in the sentence “the journey is the goal” – as has been philosophically exaggerated and attributed to Confucius – but to arrive where you want to go. In the meantime, you would actually rather deal with other things. With the smartphone, with a book (ah, unfortunately less nowadays), video games or with streaming video. After all, driving a car is a waste of time when you are behind the wheel yourself. Unless you’re on the run – an action film in which autonomous cars give chases is rather unlikely.

nonsense

Of course, from today’s perspective, that’s nonsense. Most pilots love their car, which is not only a status symbol but also an expression of freedom. The freedom to rush down winding country roads and show the vehicle or following where the hammer is. So sporty driving.

There is no place for a robot that controls the car and is possibly safer on the road than you are. And that already explains why the vast majority of people answer with the sentence: “Who needs that?”

safety and traffic flow

In 10-15 years, however, the picture should have changed completely. Then the “human piloted car” will be a dying species. The environmentally friendly and autonomously driving cars will then pick up their passengers at the right time, take them from A to B, and pull them away again. In cities, if the vehicles are still privately owned, they will independently look for a parking space with a charging point (either with a robotic hand or induction) and automatically start the charging process. In homes, the car, controlled by AI, will help stabilize the power grid by deploying V2G or V2H capabilities when needed.

The car can be called to any location using a smartphone. Driving under the influence of alcohol will then have lost relevance. However, the passenger still has to unfold the puke bag himself.

Utopia?

In addition, many research institutions that deal with the traffic of the future expect that the sheer number of cars will decrease drastically in the future, even if traffic will remain more or less constant. Why? Because the publicly bookable cars are less standing around and are constantly in use.

Beautiful new world?

For many, this utopia is more likely to become a dystopia, because with autonomous driving, power is transferred to the vehicle. You put yourself in the care of a machine. Ethical and philosophical questions then gain in urgency. Who is to blame in the event of an accident? What happens when an autonomous and a classic vehicle are involved in the accident. How does the AI ​​decide in the event of a coercion if an accident endangers one or more lives, depending on the reaction?

The future will be exciting, that much is certain. However, it is questionable whether the European OEMs will continue to rank in the top league. Europe has a tendency to nip everything in the bud with countless questions and fears, while global competition makes giant strides towards its goals. Which brings us back to the question, but this time it concerns European regulatory hysteria: “Who needs it?”