Driverless cars are what some envision as the future. They picture a world where every car is automated, and where every kind of transport is regulated. Many very large companies have poured a fortune into creating technology that will enable the eradication of a need for drivers. However, there are a huge number of negative effects of this movement. I am completely against the idea of driverless cars, for reasons such as recreation, cost, and safety.

First of all, many people in support of driverless cars portray driving as it is now as a dull part of our society that simply wastes time and energy. However, many, many people enjoy driving, simply for the feel and the experience. If driverless cars were to be implemented, there is no doubt that after a while driving oneself would be considered dangerous, irresponsible, and would likely be outlawed. Not only is there no way to implement such as system, as there would be far too much backlash from the community that enjoys driving, it would be wrong to completely forget about and not consider their opinions as valuable as others.

Second, the cost of a system of driverless cars would be enormous, and quite frankly, insurmountable. People do not realize that these cars would not function well in a society with a vast majority of people driving themselves. For a working system, the majority, if not all of the cars on the road, would have to be replaced with driverless cars. There is no way that the government would provide the cost, and there is no way that everyone has the interest in or the money to buy a driverless car. Not only is it impossible to replace every car with a driverless one, insurance and settlements would be nigh impossible to figure out, as even the article says, there is no definitive blame to be made. The operator of the car could blame the manufacturers for a poorly made vehicle while the manufacturers could simply argue the fact that the driver could have taken control of the car at any time.

Finally, safety would be a major concern. One of the article's biggest faults is that it says that driverless cars will be able to mimic the skill of a human at the wheel. Driverless cars are not able to mimic humans, and will never be able to mimic humans, unless artificial intelligence technology becomes equal to humans. People have the ability to consider moral possibilities and choices. For example, if in a case where the options are a collision which saves the driver's life but has a very large chance of killing another driver, or the choice to swerve off the road but result in severe if not fatal injuries to the driver, the machine would not be able to make that decision. Humans have the unique and intrinsic ability to think, quickly and effectively, through a situation. Machines, however, would be forced to make a decision based on a certain goal, whether that may be the prevention of collateral damage, the safety of the driver, or arrival at the destination.

For these reasons, driverless cars absolutely cannot be a possibility or a good decision. I believe companies should be working to help make drivers more safe by adding other safety features, rather than trying to erradicate drivers from the situation altogether.