The Importance of Incentives in the Development of Autonomous Vehicles
An understanding of how incentives shape technology is crucial for building the next system of mobility.
Just as the automobile shaped much of the urban and social fabric of the modern era, autonomous vehicles promise to be a major determinant for how society is organized for decades to come. Because our decisions on how they are built have long-term, irreversible implications, it is essential to craft the right incentives behind development and operations.
1. Incentives shape technology
Incentives shape whether technology makes humans better off, worse off, or, in most cases, a mix of the two. Incentives—whether or not consciously considered—nudge the builders of technology on what to prioritize, who to build for, and how the experience should be shaped. This can cause one underlying technology to lead to dramatically different systems of use.
Incentives have shaped many systems in our modern world that we take for granted. For example, since the industrial age the owners of duplicators (machines producing low-cost, standardized products) were incentivized to maximize their utilization irrespective of the utility of their use, which led to the discipline of…
