Adrian Chiles Blasts Driverless Cars as Lobotomizing Technology, Urges Focus on Fossil-Fuel Alternatives
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Sep 10
Adrian Chiles Blasts Driverless Cars as Lobotomizing Technology, Urges Focus on Fossil-Fuel Alternatives
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Sep 10
Summary
Adrian Chiles used a new opinion column to attack driverless cars as unnecessary, de-skilling technology and asked what problem they are meant to solve.
Driving, he argued, is a skilled cooperative act that already works overwhelmingly well, making fully autonomous cars a poor trade-off even if some existing driver aids improve safety.
Automatic transmissions and satnav have already dulled drivers’ abilities, Chiles wrote, and self-driving cars would push that trend further by turning motorists into passive passengers.
Tech talent would be better spent on alternatives to fossil fuels and longer-lasting road surfaces, he said, casting autonomous vehicles as a misdirected innovation priority.