Slashdot Mirror
Consumers Expect Their Cars To Become Mini Data Centers (networkworld.com)
coondoggie writes: Many consumers expect self-driving cars to become common in the not-too-distant future -- cars that diagnose problems without human intervention, cars that adapt to a particular driver's behaviors and react to its environment. Those are some of the conclusions from IBM's 'Auto 2025: A New Relationship – People and Cars' research involving 16,000 global consumers who were asked how they expect to use vehicles in the next ten years. IBM found consumers have the expectation that cars will soon communicate with other vehicles and infrastructure around them, integrating easily into a broader collection of traffic. More than a third of consumers said they'd be likely to allow collection of their driving data to support these services -- a notable figure, given that IBM is partnering with Ford to do exactly that.
I don't want any data interaction with my car. I just want to drive from A to B.
I think consumers expect their cars to become Cell Phones or Tablets, not Mini Data Centers....
There are two types of people in the world; those who believe there are two types of people, and those who don't.
A car used to be about independence, it was really the BIG first step in becoming and independent person from your parents, and was a symbol of individual freedom.
Now? I dunno....in the excerpt, it shows a growing number of people, willing to give up private, aggregate data about themselves, for the "greater good"....for some perceived and possibly realistic possibility of greater safety.
My question is, are you really that scared? Are you that scared of your driving ability to avoid wrecks? Are you that worried about people around you?
I just don't see it as "that bad".
I want to be the one in control of my car. I like to drive. Hell, I've never owned anything but 2x seat sports cars since I bought my first one in high school (exception my old '86 911 Turbo technically had 4 seats, but the rear two weren't functional for human usage). I like to be in control. I like to have a car that stops as well as it accelerates and handles. I don't want a computer intervening in my driving.
That sad thing is...that while I really don't have that problem with some folks that do want the aid....is that having your car be in control as described, will soon NOT be a choice and will be mandatory. It already is trending that way as that just the other day I saw a blurb on TV with a federal official saying this cooperative car, inter-vehicle communication would by law start becoming mandatory.
I dunno. It bothers me with this trend towards autos, and more generally, the fact that the individual is being celebrated less and less in our culture, in favor of everyone is equal, everyone MUST cooperate for the greater good. Cooperation and community DO have a place in our US culture, but the balance seems to be tipping to where we're moving more to be a part of the collective on everything.....and that is NOT where boldness, creativeness and greatness comes from.
OH well....I guess while I still can, I should move on buying that old 70's muscle car, and maybe do a resto-mod on it to improve the handling and braking. But then, I'll be able to have a car sans computer control, a 455 4-Speed engine, and open up the old air restrictions and get something in the 500HP range. Something fun to drive, and that isn't part of the hive mind growing today.
I'll try to do it while I'm still able to....legally.
I never thought the Rush song Red Barchetta would be quite so prophetic.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
Alternate reality summary:
"After asking a series of highly leading questions, IBM shockingly discovers that what it is planning to do is exactly what consumers want."
Consumers were assaulted with an endless stream of buzzwords, and a response inculding glazed eyes and/or drool were taken as indications of approval. A spokesman for IBM gushed "Phew! We didn't know if we knew what we were doing, but now we have discovered that we're right, we can push ahead with, um, what we were pushing ahead with. Go IBM!"
And *I* want you not to crash in me/my car/bicycle/motor if *I* happen to be between your A and B.
Therefore, I want you car to be overstuffed with as much electronics as possible that can automatically break and avoid me in case you're distracted/busy texting/tired and not very concentrated/completely wasted, etc.
(That's why I'm happy that features like "CitySafety(tm)" and other such Forward Collision Avoidance Systems are becomming more common place. It used to be only on high end expensive cars like my father's Volvo, now it's even available on the cheapest VW Up! on my local car-sharing).
Driving is a dangerous activity. Driving causes way much more death than terrorism, illegal aliens, or any other of the bogeyman currently waved by the media.
Together with Cancer and Cardiovascular diseases, Driving is among the 3 leading causes of death. (Exact details vary depending on age. Youngs a more likely to die in a car crash, older are more likely to die of cancer or heartstroke).
I'm all for putting as much technology as possible to reduce risks of car crashes, and risks of me dying because I happened to be between your A and B point right at the moment you where distracted by the boobs on the model on some yogurt advertisement rather than paying attention in front of you.
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
A car used to be about independence, it was really the BIG first step in becoming and independent person from your parents, and was a symbol of individual freedom.
Independence comes in many forms. A car is merely one way to get it. It's a state of mind. Are kids in NYC somehow less independent just because they don't need a car to get around their city? I live near Detroit and people celebrate cars around here but it's more of a fetish than a practical necessity. Cars are transportation first and foremost. Any sense of independence you get from them is secondary and to a large degree perceptual.
My question is, are you really that scared? Are you that scared of your driving ability to avoid wrecks? Are you that worried about people around you?
No, No, Yes. But if you asked me about other people my answers would be different. Put my grandmother behind the wheel and the answers are Yes, Yes and Yes. And frankly you aren't scared because you are accustomed to how things work. The objective safety record of cars is rather bad and much of that is based in human error.
I want to be the one in control of my car. I like to drive.
That's nice but not really particularly important to society. I like to drive too but most of the time I wouldn't miss it, particularly when commuting. Much of the time driving is merely a waste of time and not much fun. You might be a great driver and you might like to drive but the objective evidence is clear. Lots of people are NOT good drivers. Lots of people who are generally good drivers make mistakes while driving. Tens of thousands of people die in auto accidents each year and many of these are possibly avoidable with automation. Furthermore we waste vast numbers of hours driving that could be put to better use. Your desire to have some fun driving a car is understandable but there will be ways to maintain that in the future.
I like to be in control. I like to have a car that stops as well as it accelerates and handles. I don't want a computer intervening in my driving.
Really? The plain fact of the matter is that without computer assistance your ability to control the vehicle is limited, particularly in difficult corner cases. In the right conditions you WILL stop faster with ABS brakes than without. In the right conditions you WILL accelerate better with traction control than without. Etc. With a well designed computer assistance you will be a measurably better and safer driver. I love computer controls in cars that help me drive better and I love them even more in other people's cars so they don't crash and hurt anyone.
Think of it this way. Fighter jets are computer controlled but nobody complains about the computer interfering with the pilot's control.