zeitgeist57 Posted February 13, 2018 Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-13/self-driving-cars-will-kill-things-you-love-and-a-few-you-hate Even with some of the assumptions and stretches of imagination this article uses, it’s the most complete thought–process in a single article I’ve seen into what self driving cars will do for society. Mark my words: domination of self driving cars will not necessarily come from perfecting the technology; it will be legislated, right-of-way laws and insurance mandates that will pull society away from cars. If we ever get to a point where “Autonomous Cars Only” road lanes exist through major thoroughfares (think rush-hour traffic in major cities)...that’ll be a tough one to overcome for those of us who actually enjoy driving. Classic cars will never die if we can “hot rod” modern technology into older chassis. The thought that I could be chauffeured around in my ‘78 Continental autonomously is an interesting idea. Time will tell... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trouble Maker Posted February 13, 2018 Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 What will we do without all of the horses? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeto67 Posted February 13, 2018 Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 I am uncomfortable with the change it poses to long haul trucking. Sure the industry is suffering an employment shortage, but autonomous tech will further reduce wages of those already employed by reducing the qualifications and experience needed to do the job. Although there is a driver shortage, there are still 3.5 million over the road truckers right now, and reducing their wages won't be good for the economy on the whole. The article draws a parallel with commercial air travel, but the reason pilots weathered it better is due to regulation and the rigorous training requirements mandated by those regulation. Truck drivers don't nearly have the same protection. Sure the accident rate will go down, and that is overwhelmingly positive but I am not sure the balance is there. Only time will tell how it all shakes out. What will we do without all of the horses? I dunno, not eat as much McDonald's? (sorry, couldn't resist). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseyctsv Posted February 13, 2018 Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 I am uncomfortable with the change it poses to long haul trucking. Sure the industry is suffering an employment shortage, but autonomous tech will further reduce wages of those already employed by reducing the qualifications and experience needed to do the job. Although there is a driver shortage, there are still 3.5 million over the road truckers right now, and reducing their wages won't be good for the economy on the whole. The article draws a parallel with commercial air travel, but the reason pilots weathered it better is due to regulation and the rigorous training requirements mandated by those regulation. Truck drivers don't nearly have the same protection. Sure the accident rate will go down, and that is overwhelmingly positive but I am not sure the balance is there. Only time will tell how it all shakes out. I dunno, not eat as much McDonald's? (sorry, couldn't resist). I don’t disagree with you, but how is this different than automation in any industry? There are tons of jobs lost to automation in manufacturing - what do you think can be done? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trouble Maker Posted February 13, 2018 Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 There are tons of jobs lost to automation in manufacturing - what do you think can be done? Guaranteed Minimum Income Queue 78% of CRs heads exploding Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeto67 Posted February 13, 2018 Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 I don’t disagree with you, but how is this different than automation in any industry? There are tons of jobs lost to automation in manufacturing - what do you think can be done? That's the 64,000 question now, isn't it? People have been talking about technology caused unemployment since the turn of the last century, and for the most part they have been mostly right. We don't have elevator operators, copy boys, switchboard operators, etc, anymore...and actually if you follow the time line for other people displaced by technology their stories are quite sad. Some find other work in the marketplace, but a good number just age out of the work force and live retired lives - the lucky ones live off retirement savings on a fixed income. It is the next generation that adjusts to the employment marketplace by just not training for these skills and replacing them with some other skills in the educational program. So in the long term the economy shifts and compensates over the course of a generation. But the short term, you end up with a higher unemployment rate, a strain on public resources, and a group of disaffected people who are most affected by technology but are in the worst possible position to understand why they are affected. A guess what really worries me about automated cars, isn't just the truckers. They are one of the largest affected singular groups, but they aren't the only ones that will be affected, and I don't know that we have seen a technology shift of this scale before. Even computers presented a gradual roll out where small pockets of the industry were affected at different times, even though the overall impact was massive, but this is poised to have pretty quick short term (5 year) effects. Technological progression is always good, but the advent of this technology does not inspire that we are entering stable financial times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supplicium Posted February 13, 2018 Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 Great article about the effects down the line not just for drivers. Truck Stops/Travel Plazas house 97,000 businesses and employees 2.2M people. https://qz.com/se/machines-with-brains/1017379/these-are-the-small-us-towns-that-will-be-crushed-as-trucking-becomes-autonomous/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeesammy Posted February 14, 2018 Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 I'll still have job security, but would suck not being allowed to drive. Maybe I need to get rolling on starting an autonomous fleet maintenance company...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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