Scantland 1

Sarah Scantland

Professor Amy Ludwig

English 091

1 February 2017

Should Technology Drive Society?

In the age of technological advancement the hottest topic is easily the creation and the

disbursement of self-driving cars. Although some may see the invention to be ground breaking

and eye opening, there are some dangerous down falls to their use. As with any new and

boundary pushing invention there are kinks to be worked out, both internally and externally. The

self-automated car, while being useful in many aspects, can be extremely dangerous. The use of

the self-driving car brings up the question of liability in the case of an accident with another self-

driving car or a manual car. The innovation of technology taking on human roles has the

potential to leave millions jobless. Although self-automated cars have come a long way in the

recent years and offer an array of benefits, we must address their problems with safety, their

issue of liability, and their effects on the job market before they become readily available for

society.

In the circumstance that self-automated cars become available for everyday use they

would open up a whole new world of possibilities. As referenced in Waymos video

advertisement the disabled, blind, paralyzed and elderly would be able to maintain their freedom

(Waymo). When the difficulties of driving are eliminated it allows for anyone to get to any place

that they desire, whether it be the beach or a necessary doctors appointment. There is also the

opportunity to reduce the number of drug, alcohol and distracted driving accidents that occur

annually. Two-thirds of the population is estimated to be involved in a drug or alcohol related

 Scantland 2

incident in their lifetime, the implementing of self-automated cars would reduce this statistic

drastically (Driving While Impaired). Not having to spend the time driving from school to soccer

practice to the grocery store would free up a lot of time in the fast pace lives we lead. These

benefits may seem like enough to be in favor of the utilization of this technology, but the

disadvantages that come along with it are enough to have anyone second guessing their use.

In the last few years the research on the performance of automated vehicles like Googles

self-driving car, Waymo, has grown immensely. Google began experimenting with Waymo on

the streets in Mountain View, California in 2009. In the five years between 2009 and 2014 they

drove under 1 million miles in comparison to the 1 million miles accumulated in 2014 to 2016

(Waymo). Current day Google has model types of Waymos driving around four different towns,

the greatest of which is Phoenix, Arizona. Phoenix has a population of 1.5 million. That may

sound like a large city, but in comparison to the population of 3.8 million in Los Angeles or 8.4

million that reside in New York City, its actually a relatively small town. In highly impacted

cities the opportunity for accidents increases. If Waymo isnt being experimented in a place like

Los Angeles, its hard to determine its true effectiveness.

The safety and performance of these cars may be at a high level, but there is always going

to be situations when technology cannot judge a situation subjectively like a human can. Self-

driving cars have the ability to react to bikers, but only to a certain extent. The effectiveness of

the cars reaction is dependent on the bike riders ability to follow the rules of the road. If the

bike rider doesnt use his arm signal the car will not react, move out of the way or slow down

(Waymo). This applies to other circumstances as well. When the weather gets snowy and the

dividing lines in the road become covered the cameras lose their ability to decipher where the
 Scantland 3

lanes are divided (Boudette). A person would easily be able to see the biker or where the lanes

lead and swiftly avoid an accident.

In the case that a road is closed and you have to be rerouted there is a chance that your

car will not be able to do so. The operation of the self-driving cars relies on a set of multiple

maps being put in place. If there is even one element of the maps missing the car wont have the

ability to route its way through the streets. In the chance that all of the necessary components of

maps are present there is a possibility that they are out dated due to constant road construction. In

the ever changing world we live in it is difficult to keep the keep anything current, including

maps. The outdated elements in the system can end with fatal results.

The computer systems that contribute to the automated cars, along with the cameras and

sensors, are only capable of so much. There are situations where the computer cannot process

what is happening, resulting in accidents, sometimes fatal. There is always going to be some sort

of flaw with the way these self-operating cars process information because not all systems can

do all things as Bryan Thomas, spokesmen for the National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration, would say (Boudette). Unfortunately, Joshua Brown is a victim of one of these

fatal accidents. His Tesla Model S collided with a white semi-truck that was turning left in front

of him when his autopilot mode failed to pick up its image against a bright, light sky. This

failure is not considered a malfunction, but rather a lack of ability on Teslas part. Drivers must

be aware that the autopilot mode in the Teslas is only intended to take some of the

responsibility off of them and is not to be relied on as the sole driver. In this age of innovation it

is difficult to discern between the two. Tesla was not held liable for the death of Brown due to

these minute differences as the car company warned that driver assistance reacts properly in

only some situations that arose on the road (Abrams). Tesla is a leading car company in
 Scantland 4

America and if they are let them off the hook for Browns death what is going to keep the car

companies that are following in their footsteps from doing the same?

In the cases of self-driving cars the question of liability is a big, important one. When the

popularity of self-operating cars grows, the amount of accidents involving them is bound to

grow, with circumstances like Browns becoming more common. The line of fault on these cases

can be extremely blurry and thin. There is the issue of semi-automated cars being called self-

operating when there is a huge amount of difference between the two. Browns Model S was

only semi-automated, but its driving assistance program is referred to as autopilot which is

clearly misleading. Tesla stated that autopilot requires full driver engagement at all times,

which is extremely different from the autopilot features of Googles Waymo. Almost all car

companies are in the process of pursuing self-automated automobiles. When there is multiple

companies with different requirements as to what determines a self-operating vehicle there is

going to be very different standards for liability. Deciphering between when the car is at fault and

when the driver is at fault is going to bring about a whole new world of debates; is the computer

smarter than the human or vice versa? This is not only going to affect liability, but the idea that a

computer is capable of doing the jobs of humans is going to have a negative impact on Americas

job market.

The combined market for car transportation in America totals over 40 billion dollars.

Applications like Uber and Lyft have worked over recent years to bring this total to this

enormous number. These apps have over 30 million employees, whether they work full or part-

time, that rely on the use of driving to acquire their necessary income. In 2015, more than 5.3

million of these full-time drivers were millennials, falling in the age range of 21-35. That number
 Scantland 5

has only grown in the recent year. The popularity of self-automated vehicles is going to leave all

of these 5.3 million millennials and the other 25 million without potential jobs.

In the circumstance that cars like Waymo perfect their driving ability there is would be a

huge decrease in drug and alcohol related crashes. The responders to these accidents are going to

be in lower demand. The sheriffs, firefighters and EMTs that are required to deal with these

horrible situations are going to find themselves without a job. In turn, the amount of money that

the state collects from traffic stops due to drug and alcohol consumption is going to decrease

significantly, resulting in the state losing a huge amount of money. Each DUI in California can

result in the state collecting over 15,000 dollars (Ilumba). This doesnt include the number of

speeding tickets that the state collects on each year. Not to mention the ridiculous amount of

money that car insurance companies then receive from human error. This innovation has the

ability to cripple multiple facets of life in America.

While the invention of the self-driving car may seem futuristic and out of this world, that

is exactly how it should stay. The creation of computers that are meant to perform as humans has

been around for centuries, but how far is too far? When the daily routine of millions upon

millions is put into the hands of a computer is the necessary reliability there? There must be

higher regulations on these computer systems and their sensors. There must be a standard for

regulating the liability in relation to these self-automated vehicles. The future of America

depends on a booming financial market, so there must be an alternative job structure set up for

the millions that will lose their jobs due to the self-driving car. If all of these issues are not

addressed correctly then the self-automated vehicles will drive America off a cliff, resulting in

fatality.
 Scantland 6

Works Cited

Abrams, Rachel. Joshua Brown, Who Died in Self-Driving Accident, Tested Limits of His

Tesla, Nytimes.com, The New York Times, 1 July 2016, Business Day.

Boudette, Neal. 5 Things That Give Self-Driving Cars Headaches. Nytimes.com, The New

York Times, 4 June 2016, Automobiles.

Boudette, Neal. Teslas Self-Driving System Cleared in Deadly Crash. Nytimes.com, The New

York Times, 19 January 2017, Business Day.

Driving While Impaired Alcohol and Drugs, NCADD.org, National Council on Alcoholism

and Drug Dependence Inc., 26 June 2015, Addiction Update.

Gillespie, Patrick. Uber Drivers: Welcome to Americas Job Market Finally.

Money.CNN.com, CNNMoneey, 26 January 2016, Reinventing Work.

Ilumba, Angelo. The Real Cost of a DUI in California, DMV.org, 4 August 2014.

Waymo.com. Google.