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My first experience with a self-driving car was during a family road trip in Texas.

Initially, I found the experience VERY stressful. I held my breath whenever the car had to brake. One thing I know about AI systems is that they only know what they've been trained on. Had this system been trained on all varieties of Texan driving??

The car's autonomous driving system required my husband, the driver, to pay attention and resume control every so often. But because his hands were free, he was able to help me field some of the million requests demands being hurled at us from the backseat: "SNACKS!" "TOY!" "SHAUN THE SHEEP!"

By the end of the trip, I was glad the car could manage itself sometimes because with our little ones, we need all the hands we can get 🥴 

In a world rapidly accelerating ( 😉 ) toward fully autonomous vehicles, I wonder, when my kids reach driving age, will they really need to drive? And as an Ammi, how do I feel about my kids being autonomous in autonomous vehicles?

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Autonomous Vehicles: Today and Tomorrow

Okay, Ammis, buckle up. We’re going to learn about autonomous vehicles.

To understand where we are today and where we are headed, it’s important to know the five levels of autonomous driving.

🚘️ Understanding Self-Driving Cars: The Five Levels

The automotive industry uses a 0-5 scale, defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), to classify autonomous driving capabilities:

• Level 0: No automation. The driver handles all aspects of driving

• Level 1: Driver assistance features like adaptive cruise control

• Level 2: Partial automation - can control steering and speed, but requires driver supervision

• Level 3: Conditional automation - car handles most tasks, driver must be ready to take over

• Level 4: High automation - car manages all driving tasks in certain conditions

• Level 5: Full automation - no human intervention needed

And, of course, there’s Level -1, which is me pushing around my son in his ‘cah’.

Currently, most autonomous driving systems available to consumers, including Tesla's Autopilot, Ford's BlueCruise, and GM's Super Cruise, operate at Level 2.

Waymo, a driverless taxi service with some of the most advanced autonomous driving technology, operates at Level 4.

👀 How do autonomous vehicles work?

Autonomous vehicles combine sensors, cameras, Lidar, and radar to gather data about their surroundings.

Artificial intelligence (AI) processes this information to interpret the environment, identify objects like cars, pedestrians, and road signs, and make decisions for safe navigation.

The AI uses algorithms to predict the behavior of other road users and determine the best driving actions, such as stopping, turning, or accelerating. Together, these systems enable the vehicle to operate with minimal or no human input, depending on its level of autonomy.

🚀 What's Coming Next in Autonomous Vehicles?

Let’s look at an autonomous vehicle company many of us recognize: Tesla. At their “We, Robot” event in October, Tesla made several autonomous vehicle announcements:

Cybercab

Tesla plans to launch autonomous taxis called Cybercabs. They claim Cybercabs will operate at Level 4 or potentially Level 5 autonomy, meaning they would not require human intervention in most conditions. People will be able to hail a Cybercab and ride around driver-free.

Robovan

Robovan is an autonomous electric van that can transport up to 20 passengers or cargo. The Robovan does not have a steering wheel or pedals, indicating plans for Level 4 or Level 5 autonomy.

Unsupervised Full Self-Driving (FSD)

Tesla plans to launch unsupervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) in California and Texas by 2025, starting with the Model 3 and Model Y, with future expansion to the Model S, Model X, and Cybertruck (fun fact: . Tesla claims autonomous vehicles could be 10 to 30 times safer than human drivers.

Autonomous Vehicles with Remote Human Supervision

A German startup called FERNRIDE specializes in electric autonomous trucks. But why am I interested in autonomous trucks as an Ammi?

Well, FERNRIDE employs a unique system that combines self-driving vehicles with human helpers. The vehicles drive themselves for normal tasks while real people watch them from a control room. These operators can help several vehicles at once, stepping in when things get tricky or unexpected.

I wouldn’t mind my kids operating an autonomous vehicle if I could step in remotely if needed 😃 

👶 What This Means for Our Kids

Children born today may still need to learn to drive, but the need to drive will likely decrease over time. Here's why:

1. Autonomous vehicles are becoming more common, but the transition will be gradual.

2. By 2040-2050, self-driving cars may dominate city travel.

3. Urban areas will likely adopt autonomous vehicles faster than rural areas.

4. Laws and regulations need to catch up with the technology.

5. Younger generations are already showing less interest in driving.

6. Improved public transportation could reduce the need for personal vehicles.

7. As autonomous vehicles become safer, human driving might face restrictions.

I imagine learning to drive will eventually be a “good life skill” that “builds character,” like learning to drive stick is today. 💪 

🤔 What Should Moms Be Asking?

As we follow developments in autonomous vehicle technology or welcome this technology into our lives, how can we ensure a healthy future with it?

Here are some questions I am certainly thinking about:

• How do safety standards for autonomous vehicles compare to traditional vehicles, especially regarding child passengers? Are child safety seats and restraints compatible with new vehicle designs?

• How is children's data being protected? What measures are in place to prevent hacking or unauthorized access to the vehicle?

• What regulations are being developed to ensure child safety in autonomous vehicles?

• How might riding in autonomous vehicles affect children's development, independence, and understanding of transportation?

• As more data becomes available, how do accident rates for autonomous vehicles compare to human-driven vehicles, specifically for trips involving children?

• How do these vehicles account for unpredictable child behavior, such as unbuckling seatbelts or attempting to exit the vehicle prematurely?

What other questions do you have about autonomous driving? Let me know by replying to this email!

Fruitful Harvest: fresh AI fruits from the community garden.

Here are a couple of fresh picks for you!

🍐 Calling all former and current graphing calculator nerds!

Remember when the cool nerds (an oxymoron, perhaps) in high school somehow managed to get games on their TI-84 graphing calculators? There's nothing like solving a quadratic equation and then following it up by scoring a personal best on ‘Snake’! Well, someone managed to get ChatGPT on a TI-84 graphing calculator….GG.

🍇 When Waymos get in each others’ way

Smart car? I’m not so sure…

🍉 6 ChatGPT prompts to help your child learn, not cheat

It can be a fine line. Check them out!

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Last Poll: How much paid maternity leave would you feel comfortable having with your newborn? What's the minimum you'd be okay with?

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 12 weeks (11%)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 16 weeks (0)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 6 months (56%)

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 1 year (22%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Other (11%)

Totally, totally agree.

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Thanks for spending a few of your precious, precious minutes with us.

See y’all soon,
Ruqaiya
Ammi by day, Ammi by night