In July 2019 Lance Sharpe and I wrote articles about driverless cars:

Solving the driverless car problem, part 1

Solving the driverless car problem, part 2

Solving the driverless car problem, part 3

The problem I was referring to was that old chestnut: faced with having to make a choice about who to kill, who would the car choose?

(I think it’s a non-issue, for reasons I gave in part 3.)

However, unrelated to that problem, something I hadn’t considered was the effect of driverless cars on road movies and books. I came across a fascinating essay on this theme. If you’re interested in how technology can affect culture, this is a must-read:

The self-moving image, by John Menick

You might also be interested in another article by the same writer. In Decision Engines, Menick presents the so-called driverless car problem in a series of six increasingly complex fictional scenarios. Fascinating stuff.