The Wall_Spring 2023_Issue 9

Joshua Clements, (he/him), S10, shares his views on a future with self- driving cars and how far away this prospect is from becoming our reality.

Self-driving cars have always been seen as a thing of the future. However, over the past few years, they have slowly begun to become our reality. So, what progress have we made? Concepts for self-driving cars have existed since the 1920s and have evolved from basic remote-control systems to A.I drivers that, soon enough, will be driving better than any human. Tesla has equipped its cars with its “Autopilot” systems for almost a decade now and has recently released its system of completely self-driving cars to the public.Although it is only a limited test run, online accounts of the full self-driving mode show just how far we have come, from simple lane changes to a car that can confidently negotiate challenging city navigation. Tesla isn’t the only company developing self-driving cars and these competitors all have varying goals in mind.Waymo, the Google self-driving project, has developed AI taxis which I believe to be the biggest benefit of self-driving evolution.This

same incident is applied to an automated vehicle, the blame given to the machine is much greater. This lack of leniency is a good thing and is important in ensuring successful development.We may never perfect our technology, but we can come close, and we can easily surpass the skill level of a human driver. Self-driving cars will eventually become the norm - this I am sure of.They are a natural evolution of technology. But, before that, there are significant challenges that need to be overcome. In just over seven years, all petrol and diesel cars will be banned from sale in the UK, and a major shift will occur as we move to electric vehicles.With this shift, there will be plenty of manufacturers eyeing up cars with self-driving capabilities. It’s only a matter of time before this new wave of innovation completely takes over. Would I comfortably ride in a fully self-driving vehicle? For now, probably not. But with time comes improvement and, in the future, we could all be riding in the back of a vehicle no longer in our control.

However, self-driving cars still pose some problems.A significant example of this is shown by the Moral Machine, developed by researchers at MIT and the University of Exeter.A twist on the traditional trolley problem, it questions whether we should let artificial intelligence make autonomous choices that have real-world outcomes. The US agency for traffic safety found in a recent study that there were almost 400 crashes in ten months linked to self-driving cars.At the moment, no car is fully self-driven; an attentive driver who is focused on the road must be present.This shows how much improvement is needed in the self-driving car industry before the cars can become fully autonomous. Humans hold technology to high standards.A small bump caused by a human driver can be overlooked as a mistake and a genuine accident. However, when the

futuristic taxi service will become a smart product of our world’s devel opment;

eco-conscious, electric vehicles operating as taxis which can be small, efficient, and produce minimal pollution.

Interested in finding out more? Read the editors’ supple mentary content by scanning the QR code!

Artwork: Jesse Rivero, LVI

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