Thanks for the topic. I love it.
my believe is- there are always two sides of the story.
I love the technical aspect. Vehicles "talking" with each other, warning the drivers and can prevent accidents. Vehicle can drive by them self, quality of driving CAN be better. Slowpoes on the left lane will be history and traffic will move more smoothly, jams can be almost eliminated. We might not see people in their vehicles sitting around the coffee table in morning rush hour having their breakfast, while the vehicle drives you safe to work, but we will have people sitting relaxed in traffic while the vehicle does most of the duty.
there is also the other side- I think the human sense is not toppable. there are situations, where human intuition is challenged and sometimes reactions might be irrational for the synthetic brain, but necessary. I also believe, if you take more and more away, people adapt and just getting negligent. lazy. don't pay attention. starting to depend on those systems. Driving will not be a pleasure no more, but necessity. the way of thinking, all of the way society works will change.
and there we are at the other, the dark side- all these "helpers" depending on a central intelligence which will be able to track every step you do, every move you make. you are controllable. And there I see the danger. I hate being controlled. I hate being told what to do or not to do. Hey- I'm within legal boundaries- so what is it your concern, what I'm doing? In the moment I am complete controllable, I'm also vulnerable for manipulation. We have to see, that all these things are not only happening in the cars- right now we are already at the point, where your refrigerator orders your stuff and is able to use your credit card to pay for the stuff when it gets delivered to your house- not long, and the robot delivery truck docks to the back of your house at the access door to your fridge and loads it up. your smartphone sends per gps all the time where you are, what you do, and people don't even understand, what they actually do, when they check in everywhere they go. facebook gives you commercial suggestion for products you googled,, food you eat, cars you look at, etc...- we are on the way to 1984. The way liberals want to make you believe, what they believe is a small taste of what will come.
I love the tech. but I hate what's behind it. I want to be in control what I'm doing and not be dictated by a machine programmed by people who could take over your life, when ever they want to. Is anybody even aware, if somebody wants to, he can wipe out your entire life, makes you non-existent with one press on a button? This is where we are already and the next step to total control is the self driving, self thinking vehicle.
Just imagine- the worst nightmare of dictators in this world- and the worst nightmare of people welcoming the new world order- are things and people you can't control.
They already talking about chip implants for identification. Yeah- easy- you come close to your stuff and it's unlocked. but the same way you're open for all kind of tracking- you're under control and if you not comply, they don't even have to search for you- they know where you are at any time.
Nope- it's going too far. I'm scared. I don't want it and I know, that I will fight against it as long as I can. My good partner is biology which puts me into the lucky situation of end- of - life- span. I'm so old- in 30 years somebody can pound a couple hundred # of dirt on top of me and I'm done. I just feel sorry for all the young ones, fighting for their millennial-thing and don't even understand, what it means to be free- they are already born in slavery. they already slaves of their smart phones controlled by big companies. some will wake up one day and feel the nightmare they live in- but then it will be too late. My believe is, 2084 will be the real 1984. and we're not too far away no more. We will come to the point, where war games, terminator, tomorrowland, future world, etc. will not be fiction anymore. if you are a confirm individual, lazy and just want to swim down the stream because it's easy, yeah- that's for you, guys. for me- a no go. I get the feeling to be tied down, I will break out and do all it takes to free my self. been there, done it and I will defend my freedom and everyone else who wants it, if necessary with my life. I'd rather die as a free man, than live on my knees in chains. Regardless what kind of chains.
sorry for the social-crap, but that's how I see it.
I oppose self driving vehicles. this is one reason, the other is- I have too much fun with driving by my self. Nevertheless- I like systems supporting the safety of driving, like ABS, ESC, Electronic sway control in trailers, cruise control ( a feature I really love), free speech device for cell phone use while driving (use it very often) and stuff like that- but don't step on the breaks, when I don't tell you to!
as a conclusion- well- I like stuff, and I want to have the choice. I want to be able to pick by my self, what I want and how far I want to go.
I don't want to live like Amish. I don't want to live like the mountain men. I don't want to live like tomorrowland. I want to have the free choice of a spot, somewhere in between. And making such systems mandatory, making TV's only as smart TV's that you don't have a choice no more, making only smart phones, smart fridges, smart watches, smart computers, smart house doors, smart cars, and all electronically connected, that when I leave work, the computer knows exactly the time with estimated traffic, when I come home and I open the door and the food is ready cooked- nope. not my idea of life-quality.