The rise of the machines is emasculating.
Bhavesh Patel pushed his Tesla S60 to its technological limit last year. He accelerated to 40MPH, activated the autopilot, and moved over to the passenger seat. Another commuter caught the episode on camera, reported Patel to the police and an English court suspended his license.
The non-driving driver admitted that his stunt was “silly” but insisted that the car had “amazing” capabilities and that he was just the “unlucky one who got caught.”
Truth be told, his luck ran out the moment he took the Tesla off the lot.
Autonomous vehicles and the regulations that govern them inevitably lead to a loss of autonomy. The technology transforms the interaction between car and driver into a passive relationship, something akin to the back-and-forth between a talking computer and a babbling toddler. Responsibility lessens when computer steering becomes an option, and drivers become passengers.
Just listen to how the cop chastises Patel in the police report: His actions were “grossly irresponsible” and could “have easily ended in tragedy” The passive daredevil “not only endangered his own life but the lives of other innocent people using the motorway.”
Obviously, only an idiot would take his hands off the wheel of a $75,000 sports sedan. But honestly, only a chicken wouldn’t at least be tempted by the thought of the Tesla autopilot. Flip a switch and the car will use a series of cameras, sensors, and algorithms to keep the vehicle in its lane. A safeguard requires the driver to keep their hands on the wheel but it seems engineers underestimated both the ability of their technology to force this and the initiative of impish drivers.
Patel worked around the “hands on the steering wheel” alerts and the Tesla managed to drive, at least briefly, safely. For that criminal recklessness, he lost his license. For willingly surrendering control, the inevitable end result of all autonomous vehicles, he was banned from driving.
Worse still, driving might not even be an option in the future. Autonomous technology is accelerating at such a point that soon there won’t be need for a human pilot. People will buy supercomputers to bus themselves to work and they will willingly give away responsibility. By then, Patel’s stunt won’t even be possible. We will all be passengers. Until the bleak day comes, keep your hand on the wheel.
