While safety, cyber, and privacy are important concerns, there is one issue that seems to be the “proverbial elephant in the room” that very few people are talking about but could potentially have a global impact if not addressed. This is the concern that autonomous vehicles could be used as a weapon of destruction (drone on wheels). The government needs to require that all autonomous vehicles have sensors installed inside the vehicle to detect for hazardous/wmd material, and once detected, disable certain features of the autonomous vehicle.
Countries and states around the world are on a fast track to be the “first” to have autonomous vehicles on their roads, but the lack of imagination by many government officials could have a tremendous backlash on society. As it stands today, if governments do not require the autonomous vehicle industry to have sensors to detect for hazardous materials, they are really in a race to be the “first” to allow for a drone on wheels to be sent to a destination.
Autonomous vehicles will be a multi-billion dollar industry with numerous automotive and technology companies involved. Autonomous vehicles, parked in our garages, driveways, or as on-demand services such as autonomous taxis, create numerous possibilities, both good and bad. Automotive and technology companies would like to have fewer regulations and be able to freely develop and ask for exemption on regulations when it is in their best interest. However, security and protection should not be avoided or exempt just to allow faster to market so a few extra dollars can be made – the autonomous vehicle industry should not be allowed to avoid regulations or achieve exemptions when it comes to security.
Just how easy would it be for a lone bad actor or an organization to call up an autonomous taxi, load it with explosives, punch in the coordinates, shut the door, and send the autonomous vehicle to a destination? It is a low cost approach for bad actors to cause major harm to society and currently, an aspect that governments have not shown an interest in regulating or requiring autonomous vehicles to have detection sensors.
While safety, cyber, and privacy are important concerns, there is one issue that seems to be the “proverbial elephant in the room” that very few people are talking about but could potentially have a global impact if not addressed. This is the concern that autonomous vehicles could be used as a weapon of destruction (drone on wheels). The government needs to require that all autonomous vehicles have sensors installed inside the vehicle to detect for hazardous/wmd material, and once detected, disable certain features of the autonomous vehicle.
Countries and states around the world are on a fast track to be the “first” to have autonomous vehicles on their roads, but the lack of imagination by many government officials could have a tremendous backlash on society. As it stands today, if governments do not require the autonomous vehicle industry to have sensors to detect for hazardous materials, they are really in a race to be the “first” to allow for a drone on wheels to be sent to a destination.
Autonomous vehicles will be a multi-billion dollar industry with numerous automotive and technology companies involved. Autonomous vehicles, parked in our garages, driveways, or as on-demand services such as autonomous taxis, create numerous possibilities, both good and bad. Automotive and technology companies would like to have fewer regulations and be able to freely develop and ask for exemption on regulations when it is in their best interest. However, security and protection should not be avoided or exempt just to allow faster to market so a few extra dollars can be made – the autonomous vehicle industry should not be allowed to avoid regulations or achieve exemptions when it comes to security.
Just how easy would it be for a lone bad actor or an organization to call up an autonomous taxi, load it with explosives, punch in the coordinates, shut the door, and send the autonomous vehicle to a destination? It is a low cost approach for bad actors to cause major harm to society and currently, an aspect that governments have not shown an interest in regulating or requiring autonomous vehicles to have detection sensors.