IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2016 - 46

is commonly used to usher in new technologies. Technological visions have several themes. They typically
seek to address a perceived social need rooted in the
present, and tend to position contemporary technologies as being inadequate for modern society's needs.
They typically argue that the new technology will surpass prior technological transitions [14]. Visions of SDV
technology typically critique existing automotive technology, claim to address social needs, and solve many
issues associated with the automobile.
At first glance, SDVs are a panacea for issues such as
traffic deaths and injuries, pollution, concerns over fossil
fuel use, problems of congestion and parking shortages,
expensive public transport provision, and the externalities
of freight transport. Current visions of SDVs promise a
future offering increased safety, speed, convenience, and
productivity, while reducing energy consumption. For
example, a common argument for SDV technology is its
capability to engineer a future with fewer road accidents
and, consequently, fewer injuries and casualties. SDVs will
determine the route and how fast to travel to improve
traffic flow, thereby optimizing energy use and reducing
congestion. The visions of SDV technology promise substantial car sharing and even lower car ownership, thus
reducing the amount of parking spaces required.
However, beyond the technologically-mediated visions
of these futures, there are some real concerns about the
impact of SDV technology, and many uncertainties about
what SDVs may actually bring about. These uncertainties
include whether occupants will be able to respond in time
to hazardous situations, and whether SDVs can perform
as well as human drivers. A common concern is liability
in the case of traffic accidents. There are concerns about
the level of infrastructure investment required to enable
full automation across geographical areas, the potential
economic and social impact of displacing driving jobs,
and the potential energy demand based on the computing power and redundant systems potentially needed for
SDVs. Little is known about who will own the vast quantities of data collected about the environment and about
passengers, how private such data may or may not be,
and vulnerabilities of the computer systems involved to
hacking and criminal activity.
Current visions of expected benefits and limitations
stem from technology development practices situated in
the dominant economic culture. Our market-based culture is shaped by many interconnected institutions
including the media, government, law enforcement, and
the insurance industry. For example, the entertainment
industry frequently glamorizes speed. The mass media
receive substantial revenues from alcohol and automotive advertising, both of which air in programming typically targeting a young male audience. Many accidents
involving young males result from beer consumption

combined with speeding [15]. The insurance and automotive industries, in combination with law enforcement
and government, also shape the automobile and our
experience with it [15].
The power originating from this complex context
often shapes technological visions, as well as the decision-making related to those visions [16]. While we do
not know exactly which visions will be enacted, current
visions risk blinding technology developers and regulators to potential beneficial transformative societal
changes and challenges in transportation [17].

What is Missing from Current SDV Visions?
In addition to the challenges facing SDV technology that
we have identified, the current vision of SDV technology
has a narrow focus privileging the requirements of technological and commercial development, while at the
same time neglecting potentially serious social consequences. One of the recurring themes is that SDVs are
possessed of "algorithmic authority" superior to
"human authority" that enable SDVs to navigate the
environment more effectively. There are even visions of
SDVs as ethical robots, programmable to solve moral
dilemmas that they could face between killing an individual and killing a group. These visions of SDVs as ethical robots are part of an emerging trend in robotics [18].
Yet we do not yet have the necessary rich set of scenarios and use cases about the difficult moral and ethical
dilemmas that SDVs will have to resolve. These scenarios and use cases are necessary to assess the social
consequences of this new technology.
We know from the history of the automobile how devastating the consequences can be. For example, a belief
that passive devices were superior to active devices
meant early airbags in U.S. cars were used instead of
seat belts despite scientific evidence that their design
increased the total number of deaths in accidents.
Women were disproportionately affected, because of
their smaller sizes [15]. The societal costs of 1.24 million
road deaths a year (nearly triple the UN's annual global
estimate of murders and twenty times the number of
deaths attributable to wars each year), is a ghastly
reminder of how lethal automotive transportation is [19],
[20]. This does not even take account the much greater
number of those maimed as a result of traffic accidents.
One set of missing requirements in SDV development relates to the changing role of the driver's ethical
responsibility and legal liability for accidents. Most
designs for SDVs do not completely do away with the
driver, requiring them to take over in emergencies, thus
raising the issue of who is responsible for negative outcomes. Future laws may not treat the occupants and the
vehicle manufacturer equally, with the SDV driver potentially held accountable for failing to respond to danger

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