"There's a clear similarity between the mid-2010s and our current moment: they were both times when the hype around artificial intelligence and automation were ascendent, if not reaching a fever pitch. A decade ago, the story was that rapid advances in AI and robotics were about to wipe out millions of jobs – maybe even half of all jobs in the United States – and self-driving cars played into that story.
Within a few years, taxi drivers, truck drivers, and delivery drivers were supposedly going to find themselves out of work as the computers took over. But the technology didn't advance to that level and the predicted widespread job losses didn't materialise.
Today, we're in a similar place. The explosion of generative AI a couple years ago has created an environment where it's easy to sell a similar story of the inevitability of self-driving cars all over again.
There's no question we're slowly starting to see more of them on the streets, but that doesn't mean they're going to be ubiquitous anytime soon – if ever – nor will they solve the entrenched problems in our transport system.
Technology doesn't solve what are inherently political problems. The deaths on our roads and the time we spend stuck in traffic or waiting for an infrequent bus are not because we're using the wrong technology. They're the result of choices we've collectively made for how to organise our transport system and give cars primacy over everything else."
https://www.dezeen.com/2024/11/21/self-driving-cars-hype-opinion
1/6
TRANSIT, TRAINS, CYCLING & URBANISM
destroy