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(Self) Test Drive

Self-driving cars are the next big thing, at least that's what Elon Musk believes. But are we ready for it, asks Jayadev Calamur

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Last year, a viral video of Tesla's self-driving car predicting an accident, moments before it actually happened, did the rounds on social media. This video, which came from The Netherlands, had the uploader sitting in the passenger seat while the car was on a busy expressway. Moments before the crash, an alert cropped up followed by repeated beeping. Barely a second later, the car in front of the Tesla, which was still a good 50 to 60 metres ahead, crashed into a truck.

Truly driverless?

Post this, self-driving cars' ability to predict a disaster, was hailed. This came as a relief for Tesla that was questioned over the safety of these cars, after a man lost his life, when his car was on autopilot mode. In Tesla's defence, the self-driving car isn't a complete self-driving one. You need someone behind the wheel, who turns the auto-pilot feature on. The car then alerts the driver of the dangers or obstacles around it to avoid accidents. One can assume the self-driving car was developed to eliminate human error – one of the leading causes of road accidents.

Futuristic prospect

With Google already in the self-driving car race, Ford catching up and the CEOs of various companies speaking heavily on the advantages of self-driving cars, it looks like a driverless future is in store. In February this year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that all cars will be self-driving in the next 10 years. "I think we will see artificial intelligence advancing tremendously," he said, adding that massive societal impact, will not occur as soon as we see 'autonomy' (of decisions) appear in self-driving cars because it will take a lot of time to make enough autonomous vehicles to lead to disruption. "So that disruption will take place over about 20 years".

Will it work out?

Can we afford them? Are we comfortable with a car making all decisions, such as taking a route that is logically a better one rather than a road that we're more comfortable with? What's the insurance going to be like? These are questions that are yet to be answered. Furthermore, self-driving vehicles will take away jobs of commercial drivers, thereby affecting an entire unit of the working class, who have become a part of our daily lives.
In India, it may take a very long time, primarily because of the inept infrastructure. Until then, truck drivers and cabbies can breathe easy.

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