Automotive

AI Can Solve Our Driving Dependence -- If We Don't Mess It Up

Today, one only has to step out onto a New York street or fly over LA’s tangled highways to see the problems: auto-clogged roads, low-lying vehicle-fume smog, and barely-moving lines of single drivers sitting in multi-passenger cars. Some (mistakenly) cast luxurious self-driving cars as a means to turn the frustrations of a daily commute into a valuable period of relaxation or productivity. In this piece, I explain why that strategy won’t just be ineffective and worsen our commutes, but will also ultimately compel consumers to embrace the very transport philosophy that made us traffic-beleaguered in the first place. I also make a case for why using self-driving cars as public transport can be used as a means to eradicate driving dependence in the long term.