How Smart/Connected Car change the Current Social Ecology

On Sep 29th, I moderated a panel on “How Smart/Connected Car change the Current Social Ecology” at Global Car Summit. With a diverse group of panelists, interesting perspectives were discussed which is different from technology specific conversations I have usually been part of.

“Smart” vehicles are happening

Although full autonomy  timeline is debatable, “smart” vehicles providing features such as Auto Emergency Braking (AEB) for pedestrian and vehicles, advanced cruise control (ACC) and highway pilot are already happening. These capabilities have started to impact the way we drive and live. With more than 30,000 driving related death in US every year, 90% of which are attributed to human error, the smart vehicles can potentially help reduce the road fatalities.

Adoption: Will we trust the smart vehicles decision?

Autonomous vehicles will be safer than human driving. However recent survey shows that level of comfort for even limited self-driving is minimal with baby boomers and less than 50% for Gen Y/Z. Smart and autonomous vehicles will be going through adoption phase requiring educating the users. Overall perception will have to be improved so that an average driver can trust the smart and autonomous vehicles. Today, while riding a bus and taxi, we do trust the driver with the underlying assumption that the driver is certified by the state/federal government (have gone through stringent test process). The autonomous vehicles will also require similar certification.

Ownership: From owners to consumers

With fully autonomous vehicles, the car ownership model will likely change from user owned to business owned. Ride sharing will probably be the most common operating model. Today’s owners will become consumers and will not have to worry about parking, maintenance, auto insurance or yearly registration renewals. This will result in time and money savings for the consumers.

Driving jobs will be replaced and new jobs will be created

Today’s Uber, taxi and commercial vehicle driver’s jobs will be replaced with full autonomy. However new jobs in developing the autonomy technology, managing and maintaining the fleets and services around the fleets will be created.

Pizza delivery will change

Ford recently announced testing pizza delivery service with autonomous vehicles. This is the onset of one of the major changes with autonomy. Package/pizza/grocery delivery for the last mile will be serviced by autonomous/robot vehicles. Other industries such as auto insurance and auto maintenance will surely change with the advent of autonomous vehicles.  

Smart and autonomous vehicles are going to have a major impact in the way we live. From reducing accidents and traffic to more money and time for us to doing pizza delivery. So fasten your seat belt and enjoy the ride!

The views expressed here are my personal thoughts and do not reflect those of my current or past employers.

Background of the event: The event was part of SVIEF (Silicon Valley Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum) held at Santa Clara Convention center. Panelist include Jonah Houston (Transportation portfolio lead, IDEO), Phil Mann, (Managing Director/CEO, SecNeo, VP 5D Robotics), Donny Seyfer, (Co-Owner, Seyfer Automotive, Inc) and Johnson Shan (Founder/CEO, Black Sesame Technologies Inc).