Since the Freakonomics and Search Engine podcasts both ran (the same) 2-part episode on autonomous vehicles, that's on my mind.
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Since the Freakonomics and Search Engine podcasts both ran (the same) 2-part episode on autonomous vehicles, that's on my mind.
First, in 2 episodes, the word privacy literally didn't get said. Nobody talks about what happens when a silicon valley tech company knows all your movements down to the minute and the GPS coordinate. Maybe Uber/Lyft moved the overton window on that already.
Second, I can imagine a bunch of horrible scenarios between ICE and an autonomous taxi company like Waymo or Zoox. Imagine DHS getting a real-time data feed of journeys. They see a journey for someone they want to detain. They contact the driverless taxi company and
- (a) order them to change the destination: take the passenger to a place where ICE agents are waiting to apprehend them
- (b) order them to stop the taxi and not unlock the doors, so the passenger cannot get out
- (c) If (b) is unlikely, just drive on a fast road too fast for a passenger to safely bail out until law enforcement can arrive
There are few, if any, laws protecting us passenger-citizens from this kind of abuse. All we have are pinky swears from the tech companies and governments. In the year 2026, how much do we trust those pinky swears?
