Autonomous vehicles are vehicles that can either completely or partially drive a passenger on a route without a human driver.

There is no company that can/does sell any completely autonomous vehicles, however there are multiple current vehicles heavily using autonomy such as Tesla AutoPilot, GM Supercruise, Ford BlueCRuise, Kia/Hyundai Highway Assist, and Mercedes-Benz Drive Pilot.

"autonomous" refers to technology used to partially or entirely replace the human driver

5 levels of autonomous driving that vary in different features

"machine learning" refers to the implementation of computer software that can learn autonomously

ADAS (automated driver assistance systems) very beneficial in terms of the reducing of both traffic congestion and accidents occurring. The National High Traffic Safety Administration stated that ADAS "assist a driver by anticipating imminent dangers and working to avoid them." This type of autonomous advancement can clearly aid riders and drivers alike in making safer trips.

Eliminating human elements from a vehicle's operation also takes away the distractions or emotions that can come with a human driver. Without a human at the helm, the margin for error that is caused by humans being distracted whether emotionally or physically by looking at a phone or away from the road is diminished. The technology used to create these vehicles is designed with the intention of detecting and reacting to other vehicles and traffic rules on its route which in theory is maximizing safety for a rider.

Autonomous forms of public transportation including self-driving taxis can be very beneficial for people incapable of driving. Those with disabilities or the inability to other forms of transport could rely on these means.

Autonomous vehicles used by companies such as Uber can deliver goods with maximum efficiency. These vehicles could serve as a valuable middle-ground for grocery or department stores and consumers to have goods delivered to their doorstep.

Self-driving vehicles are seen as "boosting cost-savings and efficiency" for two major reasons; ability to run for longer hours without stoppages and the much lesser minimum requirement fir employees.

Since these are specifically-programmed robotic systems, they lack the ethically abilities a human does. A key example of this is the scenario where a vehicle is going to collide with a group or single party and had to chose, or a scenario that would pit the safety of the rider against others on the road.

These vehicles lack the ethical decision-making framework that humans have. Humans and autonomous vehicles make intrinsically different ethical decisions which can vary from choices on the road to reaction time to an oncoming collision.

Many autonomous vehicles that have infamously had serious crashes are criticized for the ethics used by the autonomous vehicles.

November 2023-A Waymo autonomous vehicles was involved in a collision in San Franchises, California. The crash occurred when another driver had run a red light and struck the autonomously parked Waymo vehicle at the red light. This was ethically criticized as this vehicle did not make the ethical decision to illegally move in order to avoid damage to it's vehicle or passenger.

There has been many negative instances that have come from autonomous vehicles. This has been especially inclusive to accidents that have occurred while riders are using these autonomous commercial vehicles. Most notably, this was seen with serious accidents in Arizona and California that would insight fear to the public of driverless vehicles.

2018-An autonomous Uber robo-taxi (Volvo pictured above) struck and killed a bicyclist during a ride in Tempe, Arizona. This was especially scary to consumers as there was a safety driver aboard during the ride and this horrible accident still occurred.

2024-Major robo-taxi company Cruise of General Motors Co. that used autonomous vehicles were forced to shutdown after a pedestrian was struck and injured during a ride.

Although there are positives in terms of efficiency, convenience, and the precedent of a safer approach, there have been numerous negative incidents and accidents along with ethical concerns that outweigh and prove why autonomous vehicles have a more detrimental impact than a positive one.

Autonomous vehicles have demonstrated their ability to aid people with disabilities that cannot drive or use typical means of transportation. This was seen in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 2023 with an autonomous vehicle program known as goMARTI. This article entails Grand Rapids resident Myrna Peterson's experience with these autonomous vehicles. As she uses a wheelchair due to her disability, she stated these vehicles eased her transportation needs by offering a safe alternative for her to be ridden.

Not only did these vehicles physically aid the transportation of Peterson by having a secure automated vehicle and assigned driver to secure her inside said vehicle, but this was described by Peterson as a "cure for loneliness." This is in regard to the loneliness commonly felt by both disabled people and those isolated outside of big cities. Furthermore, these autonomous vehicles can help disabled people in multiple ways whether with physical transportation assistance and halting the common isolation they face by not being able to drive on their own.

One main ethical concern seen with autonomous vehicles is the aspect of overreliance. As these vehicles have smart features that allow it to maneuver a car in ways such as backing up or parking, the ability to complete these tasks is completely out of the hands of the driver. Furthermore, the public is concerned that people will continue to lose these key abilities when driving as autonomous vehicles will completely remove the use for them. The history of AV accidents is well documented and prove that no autonomous vehicle's feature is 100% secure in it's ability. The article includes a press release from Professor Birsen Donmez of the University of Toronto who delves into the idea that overreliance on said abilities impedes the performance that autonomous vehicles bring. One example Donmez highlights is with the AV technology of Tesla that has a failsafe to alert the driver if their hands are off the wheel for an alotted time. This demonstrates how these vehicles are even created with failsafe technology in order to prevent further damage if the AV is to not work correctly.

With the rise of autonomous vehicles, there are both positive and negative aspects in terms of the employment and labor markets.

In professions such as vehicle manufacturing, vehicle rental, financing, and road transport there is an expectation of mass job loss and disruption. As these AVs are seen as more efficient, with their rise people in these industries will evidently lose jobs at a higher rate. Other key fields that could potentially negatively be effected are that of vehicle engineering as more technology will be automated and have no need for human interaction.

On the other hand, autonomous vehicles can have a large positive impact in these markets. This technology will create many opportunities in the area it is in due to its increased productivity, efficiency, flexible working hours, higher salaries, and overall cost reductions. Furthermore, with the advantage of having this technology in a city, it will be easier and more job opportunities in the transport industry through its innovational job model.