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Sol Hando's avatar

When it comes to autonomous regulation enforcement (whether it's speed, cameras, recording, etc.) I think people's comfort almost completely depends on what they're habituated to. Everyone is comfortable having smartphones that record when and where you tell them too, and cars that drive at whatever speed you can manage (so long as you aren't caught), so there will be a lot of pushback.

Pilots on the other hand are completely used to the restrictions placed on when, where and how they can fly, so the introduction of new restricted airspace is met without fanfare, especially since the restriction is for the safety of all pilots. Even though it would be more convenient, and potentially more free, if pilots were able to fly wherever and whenever they wanted, the traditional regulations make it unthinkable for anyone to suggest deregulation. You can probably say the same thing with the EU and gun control.

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Max Marty's avatar

I appreciate your thoughts on how more widespread autonomous vehicles will change the city in fundamental ways. The point on commute times is quite important as the gains from increasing the size of labor markets across large cities by reducing the discomfort and inefficiency of the commute would be a gamechanger.

But I disagree with the notion that even widely deployed AV tech will make using vehicles for mass murder any less likely. On the contrary, as we start to expect safer streets and fewer drunk drivers, it'll likely make such attacks *easier* to pull off. Even if we outlawed non-autonomous vehicles in parts of the city (very unlikely in the near future), a determined terrorist would bypass these protections or hack some vehicle out there to let them drive it into a crowd.

These technologies won't reduce the number of terrorists looking to use vehicles as weapons of mass murder anytime soon. If we want to reduce the incidence of such crimes the best way is to erect physical barriers or have people gather in places that vehicles any bigger than a golf cart can't actually reach.

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