rave A Realistic and Pragmatic Assesment of Driverless Car Technology

[DrGravitas]

Personally, I'm tired of the constant hype around developing driverless technologies. With outlandish timetables, unrealistic expectations, and corny designs my jaded self can't help but see it all as little more than a grab for investors that's setting up the public for a let down. That is why it was refreshing to see a news article that shared my views of the expectations being set up.

But, this article also raises a fair point I'd not considered before.

Through analysis of surveys, they concluded that the hype helps drive public acceptance of the technologies whereas a more pragmatic assessment may be less accepting. It's a classic trick to get people to go along with something, but one that makes sense in this scenario. As much as I'd like to see a greater focus on more realistic technology, I can accept that the money's not there; people spend on things that excite their imaginations. Similarly, people are less willing to take a chance on something without expecting a sufficiently significant change.

[WileyWarWeasel]

It's also difficult to expect most people to keep throwing money at increasingly complex and expensive things when their real incomes follow this sort of pattern: