Would You Listen to the Radio in a Self-Driving Car?
Autonomy will threaten audio’s century-long dominance in cars
April 19, 2020
Monday morning: Time for John to drive to work. In years past, he drove his neighbor Emma to downtown Charlotte, where they worked a few blocks from each other. But this is a special day: It’s their first time trying out Uber’s new self-driving car, Uber Chauffeur. After hearing his friends rave about it, John decided to sell his aging (and costly) car. From now on, his commute with Emma would be shared as passengers.
It wasn’t much of a change for Emma — a passenger is a passenger no matter who is driving — but John was now unburdened. He smiled as he looked at the empty driver’s seat, knowing he would never again have to deal with the frustration of navigating traffic. As the Uber Chauffeur drove away, John reflexively reached for the radio but stopped halfway. “You know what,” he started, “I heard about this great new Netflix series. Want to catch an episode on our way to the office?”
Thank God, Emma thought. She never loved his taste in music.
Do you listen to the radio (or streaming audio, or podcasts) when you drive? Of course you do — audio is pretty much the only acceptable media format that doesn’t distract a driver’s attention…
