Transparency — Self-Driving Software
Lets us examine why self-driving software should be transparent, or more generally software which is deemed critical should be auditable, publicly examinable, and available.
Intelligent self-driving cars are being heralded as societal world changing and effecting. However, name one manufacturer that is willing to share their collected data and software or open it up to analysis? What can possible go wrong?
Plain and simple, software can and will be programmed to escape and evade laws and authorities? When has this happened before? See Volvo and Uber.
So what are we too do? Who gets access to view and audit the software, data, and claims made by manufacturers?
In our blog, we have stated that vehicles are not only one of the most disruptive technologies, though they are also at the forefront of one of the most utilized and understood technologies. Everyone from a teenager to a grandparents KNOWS how to drive and a large majority drivers weekly. This is in stark contracts to healthcare where trained professions study for years before practicing.
Will automakers really be able to pull a fast one over the public’s eye? Well, they sure will try and the complexity of software and data will enable them to do so.
The question of confidentiality and a democracy whereby citizens are able to make informed decisions will also come into question. In a world where ordinary citizens privacy is being cast aside and corporations and corrupt politicians hide behind obtuse protection, this asymmetry is casting a doubt on what rights and when those privacy rights should apply.
As technology progresses (see software obfuscation), the military clearly has a need for confidentiality. A business might desire the same types of software confidentiality guarantees, though what prevents a business or corporation from abusing this privilege or power?
More fundamentally, when did the rights of the business corporation outweigh the democratic rights of citizens?
The self-driving phenomena is a oncoming wave that upon it’s recession will cast many open issues that need critical thinking.
