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AI takes the wheel

January 17, 2025 at 5:00:00 PM

Mingyu Lee '28

Have you ever seen a self-driving car? Would you trust one to drive you through a busy city? As AI rapidly advances, self-driving cars have improved in tandem. Whether you’ve been inside such a car or simply observed one at a distance, it is impressive to imagine that cars can drive themselves. Currently, self-driving systems are primarily used to assist drivers. However, in less than 30 years, I believe we will be able to take our hands off the steering wheel entirely. In the future, everyone may have their own personal car driver.

Recently, new cars often include self-driving systems. Most of these are level-one vehicles and do not demonstrate the full self-driving capabilities we might imagine. A level-one autonomous driving system serves only as an assistant. However, level-two vehicles, such as Tesla’s Autopilot system and Ford’s BlueCruise, allow hands-free driving on highways while still requiring drivers to monitor the road. These systems include features like cruise control and self-parking, which provide convenience to drivers. Hands-free driving reduces stress and enables longer driving durations. While not yet fully autonomous, these systems offer significant benefits.

In addition, Mercedes has introduced level-three vehicles. The key difference between level-three and level-two systems is that level-three vehicles are categorized as “eyes off, hands off.” Drivers are not required to monitor the road or keep their hands on the steering wheel. Although currently restricted to specific areas, level-three vehicles provide unparalleled freedom of movement while driving. 

Self-driving technology has advanced significantly in less than thirty years, and its development is progressing at an extraordinary pace. I believe the global adoption of level-three cars, as well as the creation of level-four and beyond is not far off.

The widespread adoption of self-driving vehicles will take time, and public bias and distrust of AI could hinder further commercialization. Nonetheless, many governments have begun implementing self-driving public transportation. Companies are also leveraging self-driving technology for efficiency and cost savings, such as using autonomous drones for deliveries. The development of self-driving vehicles represents a major innovation in the automobile market, offering substantial benefits for drivers. While there are challenges, most disadvantages will diminish as technology continues to improve. With consistent advancements and investments, I believe we will soon witness fully autonomous cars becoming ubiquitously present.

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