Anjali E. Van Ness
Mr. Adam Brown
English 1
20 October 2017
The Possible Complications of Self-Driving Cars
Self-driving cars are an up and coming technology that manufacturers are currently developing. It looks as if they will play a large role in the future of our society, but the road to this landmark will not be easy. There are many problems that may arise and must be dealt with as driving becomes increasingly automated. Self-driving cars are a technology of the future, and though there are arguments to support both the benefits and detriments they may bring, the ethical, legal, and security issues these vehicles will cause may complicate their development. As the industry for autonomous cars is expanding, ethical problems may present …show more content…
There are some self-driving cars that already exist, so in turn there are also some laws that the government has set in place to regulate them. However, they are not specific or large in number as these vehicles are still a novelty, and the laws that do exist could interfere with current laws. Therefore, new laws will need to be created and existing laws expanded upon to consider the various factors specific to autonomous vehicles (Brodsky 853). While it is true that matters of the law are almost always complex, there are at least rules and regulations in place to deal with most occurrences with manual cars, but self-driving cars will bring about a new level of intricacy and unprecedented situations. Self-driving cars are projected to largely benefit the economy and make traffic flow more smoothly, but the laws that the government will need to create may be extensive and interfere with these projections; the main issue here is liability. Lawmakers may want to create laws that deem a certain party responsible for a certain type of accident or all accidents, but this could lead to one of two scenarios. If the manufacturer is always liable, companies may not even bother producing self-driving cars (Belay 124), while on the other hand the long list of risks that come with owning an autonomous car …show more content…
Hacking of self-driving cars is entirely possible, as they are practically robots (Brodsky 862) that are just as susceptible to hacking as any other piece of technology, and if cybercriminals figured out how to hack cars, destruction could ensue (Dawson R1). However, autonomous cars present new issues, as hackers would have a different kind of power if they could gain access to these vehicles. Security breaches could lead to hackers taking over thousands of cars, using them to kill people, steal pertinent information from companies, and gain access to individual information from people, potentially increasing the risk of identity theft. This may bring about lawsuits against companies whether the law says they are responsible or not (Brodsky 865), resulting in large losses of money. Companies are working towards higher level security systems and implementing safety measures (Dawson R1-R2). The threat of cybercriminals regarding autonomous vehicles is currently not as great (Dawson R2) because there aren’t many self-driving cars in use, but if we get to a point where everyone has a self-driving car the threat would increase greatly. Cybersecurity is essential to the success of the autonomous vehicle industry and is a valid concern as companies develop this new
Mr. Adam Brown
English 1
20 October 2017
The Possible Complications of Self-Driving Cars
Self-driving cars are an up and coming technology that manufacturers are currently developing. It looks as if they will play a large role in the future of our society, but the road to this landmark will not be easy. There are many problems that may arise and must be dealt with as driving becomes increasingly automated. Self-driving cars are a technology of the future, and though there are arguments to support both the benefits and detriments they may bring, the ethical, legal, and security issues these vehicles will cause may complicate their development. As the industry for autonomous cars is expanding, ethical problems may present …show more content…
There are some self-driving cars that already exist, so in turn there are also some laws that the government has set in place to regulate them. However, they are not specific or large in number as these vehicles are still a novelty, and the laws that do exist could interfere with current laws. Therefore, new laws will need to be created and existing laws expanded upon to consider the various factors specific to autonomous vehicles (Brodsky 853). While it is true that matters of the law are almost always complex, there are at least rules and regulations in place to deal with most occurrences with manual cars, but self-driving cars will bring about a new level of intricacy and unprecedented situations. Self-driving cars are projected to largely benefit the economy and make traffic flow more smoothly, but the laws that the government will need to create may be extensive and interfere with these projections; the main issue here is liability. Lawmakers may want to create laws that deem a certain party responsible for a certain type of accident or all accidents, but this could lead to one of two scenarios. If the manufacturer is always liable, companies may not even bother producing self-driving cars (Belay 124), while on the other hand the long list of risks that come with owning an autonomous car …show more content…
Hacking of self-driving cars is entirely possible, as they are practically robots (Brodsky 862) that are just as susceptible to hacking as any other piece of technology, and if cybercriminals figured out how to hack cars, destruction could ensue (Dawson R1). However, autonomous cars present new issues, as hackers would have a different kind of power if they could gain access to these vehicles. Security breaches could lead to hackers taking over thousands of cars, using them to kill people, steal pertinent information from companies, and gain access to individual information from people, potentially increasing the risk of identity theft. This may bring about lawsuits against companies whether the law says they are responsible or not (Brodsky 865), resulting in large losses of money. Companies are working towards higher level security systems and implementing safety measures (Dawson R1-R2). The threat of cybercriminals regarding autonomous vehicles is currently not as great (Dawson R2) because there aren’t many self-driving cars in use, but if we get to a point where everyone has a self-driving car the threat would increase greatly. Cybersecurity is essential to the success of the autonomous vehicle industry and is a valid concern as companies develop this new