The New York Times plows on with its excellent look at an autonomous-vehicle future.
In one of the scenarios examined, the authors envision how our landscape would change with 100 percent AVs.
It includes a chart that maps out a mind-boggling array of things that will either change considerably or cease to exist at all.
Some other of the many highlights:
- For the human passenger, a robotized intersection could be mildly terrifying — like flying through a crowded asteroid belt, trusting the A.I. to find the right path.
- More subtly unsettling, however, might be the spectacle of a city devoid of stoplights. Indeed, devoid of all major street signs: no huge billboards across highways naming the exits, no complex merge instructions.
- A world with almost no street signs would feel strange. It could make a city less cluttered and more attractive. But it might also leave us feeling unmoored. If robots rule the roads, we might get where we’re going a lot more quickly — but end up not knowing precisely where we are.
- By virtue of being transparent and inert, however, windows are inherently limited. Today’s car windows allow you to scope out a parking spot or search for that tiny cafe with the faded sign, but they can’t help you find them. Nor can they show you exactly where that highway exit will lead or identify the odd building you just passed. Tomorrow’s could.
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