Self Driving Cars

Imagine the day when you get in your car, it drives you to work, and then goes and parks itself. David Freeman, a senior science editor from the Huffington Post, helps to give some insight on to how this might affect us. Freeman argues that their are costs to driverless technology such as job loss but also benefits such as saving lives lost during car accidents.

Telegraph.com

Automation is currently advancing at a rapid rate. What was once thought to not be automated for another seventy five years will likely be automated in the next twenty five. One of the biggest occupations that this will affect will be truckers and others that drive for a living. “About 10 percent of the U.S. workforce operate vehicles as part of their job” according to Freeman. This accounts for millions of jobs that could potentially be lost due to the automation of vehicles. Some of these workers may be able to find new jobs but likely “not all of the workers.” There will be thousands of these workers, many of which don’t have any college degrees that will be unemployed. There is a good chance that some of these workers will become homeless decreasing their chances of survival in today's world. The biggest problem though is that this won’t be the only industry affected. Every industry and occupation can potentially be automated leading to more homelessness therefore increasing the chances of death.

There are many short term advantages to automation such as seen in the automotive industry. It is reported that “worldwide, about 1.25 million people die from auto accidents per year” Automated vehicles will likely bring this number down to less than 200,000, “[saving] about a million lives a year.” Automotive accidents is the 10th highest leading cause of death in the world. Self driving cars will likely bring automotive accidents down to below the 100th highest leading cause of death.  

Future Research Questions:

Should a basic income be considered?

Should advances in automation be regulated, how much should they be regulated, and who should regulate it?