Let’s leave autonomous cars in peace to do their job
An article in MIT Tech Review, “It will soon be easy for self-driving cars to hide in plain sight. We shouldn’t let them”, explains how autonomous vehicles, increasingly common in cities like San Francisco, are becoming more and more difficult to identify as such: technology means their sensors and cameras are near-invisible or can be hidden behind grilles, mirrors or fenders, creating confusion, when for example, a police officer tries to stop an autonomous vehicle driving without lights to no avail.
Should self-driving vehicles be clearly indicated to other road users? In a survey of 4,800 people in the United Kingdom, up to 87% said yes, with just 4% disagreeing, and the rest unsure. But when a smaller group of experts were asked, only 44% said yes, with 28% saying no, with interesting arguments on both sides.
What is the issue here? Basically, that an autonomous vehicle is a robot, and that we have a right to know if we are interacting with one, just as we know when a vehicle is being driven by a learner or somebody who has recently passed their test.
Other arguments take human nature into account: other road users may be tempted to take advantage of self-driving vehicles’ safety features, trusting that their sensors will detect a sudden maneuver and give way, or by pedestrians who will walk out in…
