How AI Will Bring Driverless Cars Into The Mainstream

As society progresses, we often look back in horror at what was once deemed acceptable. Anyone of a certain age will remember a time where anyone could smoke a cigarette in a restaurant surrounded by other diners or even on an airplane at 30,000 feet. Ludicrous, right?

The concept of self-driving cars is the stuff of nightmares for gasolene-heads. However, I cannot help but wonder how long it will be before we look back and think, what were we thinking allowing humans to drive cars? Think about it for a moment; the overwhelming number of accidents are the result of human error.

As humans, we are guilty of being ruled by our emotions, which can lead to bad decisions. Experts all agree that a mixture of human and AI drivers on the road is a recipe for disaster. But the problem is not with technology or self-driving cars. It's human drivers who offer the most significant cause for concern when it comes to safety on the roads.

Elon Musk famously said the obvious answer to keeping humans safe on the road is to ban us from driving, because “it's too dangerous…you can't have a two-ton death machine. ” However, here in 2018, it's tough to visualize a future where there are no human drivers on the road. But could you imagine explaining the concept of Uber or Lyft to someone ten years ago?

In 20 years, imagine explaining to a child that adults used to drive 2 tonnes of metal at 70mph on roads in the pouring rain, relying on human judgment for guidance. It will be like trying to explain to a child today what a public telephone box is. - Omar Rahim

The fact that over 1.24 million people lose their lives each year in road accidents is a horrifying statistic that could soon be prevented. It should be of no surprise to understand that the autonomous vehicle industry is predicted to be worth $2.6 trillion a year within 15 years. Unsurprisingly the combination of advancements in AI and disruptive business models will be the driving force behind this transformational change.

For those of you thinking “what is in it for me?” a reduction of accidents by 90% and 40% lower insurance costs should be quite appealing. It's also important to highlight that the elimination of drunk drivers and offering greater mobility to those with disabilities are giant steps forward. From an environmental standpoint, it could also reduce the number of cars on the road and an increase in car sharing.

As with any technology, there are more than a few concerns and challenges to overcome. Some researchers believe that low-skill individuals with malicious intent could be given high-skill attack capabilities turning self-driving cars and drones into weapons.

Although it's crucial to explore these worst-case scenarios and ensure adequate protection is in place, we need to remember that human terrorists already have these capabilities by turning traditional transport into a deadly weapon. Recent reports that citizens have been attacking self-driving cars in California when they crash suggests that machine have more to fear from us than we do from them.

If we look at our history, it easy to see how tech trends evolve to deliver the end product. It's not about hindsight but following a predictable pattern to determine what will happen. For these reasons alone, I believe that semi-autonomous vehicles such as Tesla are merely stepping stones to inevitable future of driverless cars.

As a consumer who arrives in a car showroom, you don't want a new car that reminds you of the past. These changes in customer expectation levels are driving manufacturers and technology companies to follow Tesla's lead as the race to fully autonomous vehicles gets underway.

Uber and Volkswagen announced earlier this year that they were teaming up with graphics chipmaker and artificial intelligence firm Nvidia. They believe that sensory technology could be the secret sauce to enabling autonomous cars to make split-second decisions. Even Apple is beginning to get involved with the transportation of the future.

However, this will not happen overnight. Although the wheels are already in motion, we are still in the very early stages of our journey. It's relatively safe to assume that a semi-autonomous vehicle, where the car is the co-pilot, will progress to highly autonomous before finally going completely driverless after a lengthy stabilization period.

Take a moment to consider that the iPhone is approaching its 11th birthday and how much our lives have changed in that short space of time. Now study the capabilities of Tesla right now and think how much you would expect those cars to progress over the next 5-10 years. When you look at the tech trends, facts, and advances in technology, you quickly realize that you don't need a crystal ball to see that the road ahead is driverless.