Futurists and technologists promote a vision of the autonomous future that is shiny and bright. While that vision might come to pass, there’s a reality that it overlooks. We are a divided, tribal and political people. There are no signs of middle ground on issues spanning from abortion to education to gun control. So why should we expect self-driving cars, which portend such a huge change to our way of life, to be any different?
Driverless cars could make our lives better – or worse. The better we plan for their impact, the more we improve our prospects. But are we on the right track now?