auTOnOMOUS CARS: DATA USAGE, privacy & Ethics
An Introduction to Autonomous Vehicles:
Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) are largely linked to the future of the transportation industry, as well as a step forward in making society more efficient. For those of you that don’t know what an Autonomous Vehicle is, here is the simple version: imagine a car that is able to react to the environment, without any human intervention, is able to drive completely by itself and requires no human control.
Sounds like science fiction? Think again – this is very real, and will soon become the norm within the next couple of years. AVs have the potential to increase road safety, provide greater independence to those with disabilities, allow us to save more money, and reduce the amount of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere.
So, if they have the potential to have such a positive impact on society, why should we be wary of their introduction?
The Unforeseen Cost of Autonomous Vehicles:
Though AVs seem like they come with endless possibilities of improving society, they come at great consequence as well. One of the main costs of this technological development is our loss of privacy.
AVs have 6 stages of autonomy, in order for the technology to advance to stage 6, the vehicles require large amounts of data. These are obtained by the GPS location of the car, cameras surrounding the car, as well as various sensors. In the end, all this information is sent back to a control system AI, with pre-programmed algorithms. Following this, the AI makes a controlled decision on what the car should do next.
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Seems fairly straightforward right? But what happens to all the information and data that the vehicle has collected? Who has access to it, and who has claim to it?
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Issues surrounding data privacy have been on the rise over the recent years, especially following the introduction of social media like Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter. So, we must ask ourselves, what is to stop the same issues from arising in areas such as the transportation industry?
Data Usage Collected From Autonomous Vehicles
Imagine a world where you’re scrolling through Facebook, and an ad pops up. Normally, you’d look at the ad for a second and continue scrolling. However, if you happen to look at that same ad whilst in an AV, then all of a sudden, your car alters the route to your destination, changing it such that you end up passing the shop/location of that ad. According to the American Marketing Association, that is what the company Shop N Ride is trying to achieve. Their hope is that eventually, adverts will be shown directly on the cars system, and from there the passenger can go and purchase that item directly.
Additionally, autonomous cars are constantly collecting location information. As a result, data collectors could be able to determine a pattern based on all the information (Autonomous Driving German Source). These data patterns could then be sold to 3rd parties in order to provide ads targeted not only towards you in general, but also towards you based on the location that you are in.
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For example, if you were to frequently visit a particular gym, following which you then visit a restaurant. A scenario could arise whereby once you are in the gym, you receive ads for sports clothing, weights, etc. And then just before you leave the gym, you would start receiving ads from a particular restaurant, which entices you to go to that location – all before you have even left the gym.
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This is all possible because your AV would know at exactly what time you enter the gym, how long you stay there for, and then where you go after. As a result, we are no longer in control of what we decide, we are always being persuaded to choose whatever option the highest bidder of data wants us to choose.
This is very similar to the 2016 Cambridge Analytica Scandal, where the Trump election campaign obtained data on more than 50 million Facebook users. As a result, they “could identify the personalities of American voters and influence their behaviour”. Therefore, if this has already happened once before, what is to stop it from happening again?
Accounting for all Scenarios - The Trolley Problem:
One of the most ethically debated scenarios with regards to AVs is the trolley problem. It suggests that there are 4 different groups of people, each with their pros and cons. An accident occurs in traffic ahead, and in order to protect the passenger the AV swerves and collides with one of the groups. How does the AV choose which group is the “better” option to collide with? Had it been a driver behind the wheel, it would simply have been a split-second decision based on their past influences, and therefore uncontrollable. However, because this is an AV, it already has a predetermined set of Algorithms it must follow. Therefore, it could be said that by choosing one scenario in advance, the AI is essentially condemning that group to death.
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This is obviously not an easy task, and therefore all the facts are required before the AI has the ability to decide. Through the multitude of scanners, sensors and cameras available on the vehicle, the AI is able to construct a clear picture of its surroundings. This includes, their ability to hone in on each person individually analysis their health condition, job status, family relations, etc. Through this, the AI is able to “construct” a number value based on the information collected and assign it to that person. Therefore, to put it candidly, the AI will collide with the person/group it deems is the “best” option.
In light of this however, the focus should not be on the loss of life – as that will result no matter what. Instead, it should be on how a number system is being used to assign the right to live. The result of which has large ramifications in the way we view humanity. The reason being because, we are no longer viewing a human life as something that has endless possibilities in the future, but rather a summary of all its past actions. In doing so, we are removing one of the most essential parts about what makes us human – hope and the possibility to change. Therefore, the question is raised, what is the future of the human race? Are we going to simply become a race where our number is all that matters – akin to the movie In Time. Or will we have the option to think beyond what we are told by a computer? Whereby, as opposed to us being the ones controlling the computers, they will be the ones controlling us – leading a Matrix situation. Autonomous cars are the first step into this change. A change that will result in the dehumanisation of our species.
Selective Ethics Within Autonomous Vehicles:
In a sense of irony, it is still important to talk about who remains in control of an autonomous vehicle. This is because, when an AV is bought from the car manufacturer it is already pre-installed with an “ethics package” that provides the AI with the algorithms required, this is known as the Manufacturers Ethics Settings or MES. The question then remains that if the consumer doesn’t agree with these settings, should they have the ability to install their own Personal Ethics Settings (PES)?
Envision 2 different scenarios. The first – a car with MES installed, the second – a car with PES installed. They are both driving down the same road, and encounter a set of children crossing the road unexpectedly. Based on their individual ethics package installed, each car will respond to the situation differently.
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The first car will most likely want to protect the safety of those outside the car, in favour of attempting to relieve the manufacturer of blame.
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The second car will most likely continue down the road, as that is the safest option for the passenger
Given the above scenario, would it not be easier if there was one mandated ethics setting provided by the government, such that no matter what the outcome would be the same. This would be beneficial to either parties involved in that:
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Car manufacturers are exempt from blame – as it is required by law
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Drivers are exempt from blame – as they have no ability to change it
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By ensuring an overarching “Government setting”, the outcome of the situation would always be the same regardless of make, model or consumer. Thus allowing for both manufacturers, governments, and pedestrians to better prepare for a scenario such as this – should it ever occur.
Positives of Autonomous Vehicles
That is not to say that there is not a positive future in which we use AVs. They possess numerous advantages, such as improved safety, reduced carbon emissions, or most importantly, increased efficiency within society. Wanis Kabaj, stipulates that a hive-mind network between cars could be implemented, in the event that everyone begins to use them. This would mean that since car is individually connected to each other, they would be able to communicated on a much higher level, with an immediate response to any situation regardless of location.
For example, should a pedestrian trip onto the road and the vehicle swerve to avoid them. Every single other car would react accordingly, with the ones immediately next to the car swerving as well. While the cars in the rear would begin to change lanes knowing this incident has taken place.
This shows that with 100% AV implementation, the transportation & mobility environment would be much safer than without. But do the benefits really outweigh the security and privacy we would need to give up?
Conclusion:
Well, in the end autonomous cars will have a whole host of issues with regards to their usage once they become staple. Including understanding how to deal with data privacy issues, as well as deciding upon an ethics decision database should the car encounter any extraordinary scenarios. But in the end, will this really be any different than what we have currently?
We are already giving firms like Google, Facebook, and Amazon our data in order to make our experiences on the internet more enjoyable and easier. Additionally, smart assistants like Alexa, Google, and Siri are altering our environments based upon our locations – without any input from us. For example, starting the heating as we approach home, or playing music when we enter a room. Lastly, applications like Netflix and YouTube collect our information in order to provide us with content to watch.
This shows just how far AI and data collection have infiltrated our lives. The final push of this technology into the transportation sector, is simply an extra stage in an ever-expanding sector that will be inevitable. Therefore, we must ponder the question: will we allow ourselves to be dehumanised by our technology, or will we use technology to our advantage in order to increase our efficiency and develop as a species?
