Stakeholders and Values of an Automated Transportation System: Week 12

This week was very exploratory in the way in which I conducted research. I have been looking through many sources that deal with the public opinion along with the goals of private investors in the technology of transportation. Looking on the private side of the industry, Tesla has been at the forefront of the technology of this field and has an open source agreement on the broad use and innovation that they use with their vehicles. In order for the future of automated vehicles to work, the private investors must be able to share some technological information in order to build a cohesive network of vehicles for the road. Tesla has shared some of its information with larger automotive manufacturers (Ford, Chevy, Audi, BMW, etc.). This move by the smaller investors will boost the amount of new technology on the road. The larger companies are able to reach portions of the public that the smaller boutique companies are not able to accommodate. This cooperation between businesses is able to reach the majority of the first world population with a wider range of prices on the vehicle technology.

Along with the helpful integration between private investors is the relationship with the public stakeholders. Many of the private companies work at hand with public authorities on a larger and smaller scale. These public authorities are the key to being able to implement this technology into public infrastructure and the network roadways within the urban environment. Within the public realm are authorities on the larger federal level along with the city and state authorities. At large, the public opinion is the hardest to be able to convince about the innovation with this field of technology. Some of the research that I read this week include many surveys of people that have shown interest within the automated vehicle industry and the broader impact that it would have on society and urban life. Many of the surveys showed similarity with the younger male population being the most interested in investing and using automated vehicles in everyday life. The convincing does not have to happen with a majority of the millennial population, but rather with the larger generations that came before.

Much of the public is not convinced with the technology that has been put forward thus far, but with innovation happening at a rapid pace, implementation of this industry and way of living is a matter of “when” and not “if”. Many have suggested that this form of innovation is strictly for the advancement of First World Countries and not others. The goal is to market to the larger population in order to get the technology out on the public road and then connect the systems together through the technology that is already out there.

The influence that public authorities and private stakeholders have on the opinion and actions of the public are very large. These two forms of stakeholders need to work together to convince the population of the positive benefits and advancements that this technology can have on society, This time and influence of automated vehicles is congruent to what Ford was accomplishing in the early 1920s before the automotive world took off in the mid 1920s when the entire country was on wheels and the industry became vital in the American economy.

For me, it would be interesting in taking and analyzing the impacts that this technology could have for the world as a whole and not just a positive for individual parts. Looking at the values that the technology could bring to the world through a multitude of scenarios. For my method, I have been thinking about the use of scenarios through a Utopian ideals to really delineate the positive and potential negative impacts that and integrated transportation system could have on society.