Is autonomous driving becoming the prospective norm?

5

October

2021

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Plugged In: Getting a grip on self-driving vehicles | Driving

In the last decennia, the automotive industry has been changing. Twenty years ago, no one would ever believe that autonomous driving would even exist and yet nowadays people are becoming increasingly acquainted with this new feature in their “all electric Tesla mobile”.

Speculative innovations like this have merely been foreshadowing up until now. Imagine handing over your steering wheel to the AI system of a car and instead of driving all the time, relaxing in-between your drive. It is not a fantasy anymore, but a reality.

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Because of this new disruption, the role of the driver is prone to switch from a manual to a partial autonomous driving mode. Accordingly, the classic, old-fashioned driving pleasure, of which the majority of us is (still) accustomed to, is influenced as well.

Driving pleasure is rather a subjective matter, that can be based on personal experiences and is also context- and/or car-related. A lot of car companies consider driving pleasure to be a core competency of their cars. Some companies even have slogans that mention this competency, for example “Sheer Driving Pleasure – BMW”. Furthermore, driving pleasure has an impact on the choice of car that people buy and how they drive. Therefore, the joy that people experience from driving is a major motive for car use and willingness to pay.

However in the future, one will rarely press the gas pedal, speed up and feel that adrenaline rush anymore. This “high” that drivers often experience might need to be redesigned, which will require car companies to revise their business models and strategies. Additionally they will need to anticipate on the concept of a “car”, changing over time. As the driver’s role changes, consequently so does the driving experience and driving pleasure.

As technology for autonomous driving advances, it is no longer groundbreaking to think that within several years of time we are likely to not be in control of the car anymore. This is a rather scary and risky thought, and a new approach might therefore be necessary to create awareness of the technology and getting people acquainted with the idea of handing over control.

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The procrastinative algorithm

15

September

2021

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I assume us students are all familiar with that terrible feeling of procrastination, intervening with our attempt to study or to be productive. I regularly find myself drowning in meaningless videos and content on social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. Algorithms showing us what we want to see, such that we end up in an infinite loophole of recommended videos, to run away from our responsibilities. It is tiring, emotionally exhausting and most importantly, it is luring away my focus on work that needs to be done.

Unfortunately, I think most of us also have difficulties in taking self-control, especially in the hyperconnected world we live in, and where digital devices have almost become a primary necessity of life. One technique that has emerged is the ‘persuasive design technology‘, which is one of the techniques many tech companies use to get us “hooked” on our devices. It namely changes our behavior by using triggers that keep us motivated to stay on our devices and engaged to the content they provide. Ultimately, design strategies like these will make it harder for us to take back control, sometimes without even being aware of it being a problem.

In response to this, a new market has emerged that should help us in achieving (better) digital well-being. Nowadays, applications such as Offtime and Breakfree exist to help users “unplug”, by setting daily limits to certain apps and letting users monitor their usage. The Apple iPhone also introduced the feature of ScreenTime, so that users can track what they are actually doing on their phone, and for how long.

The question remains whether and to what extent these applications will assist the user to really take back control, disconnect, and focus on what really matters. Namely, because these apps are often not sufficient in effectively changing our behavior. Deleting an app sometimes even seems to be the only way to breakthrough. Also, will companies like Facebook and Google take responsibility for the possible negative consequences imposed on the users of their services? Will they make user well-being one of their top priorities? With their current design strategies, I do not believe that this will happen anytime soon.

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