When Cars Operate Autonomously, How Will We Utilize the Additional Time?

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      The advantages of self-driving vehicles for consumers are clear: enhanced safety and convenience. The benefits for companies are also apparent. Being able to analyze and shape travel patterns will be advantageous for businesses, not to mention a new audience for content and advertisements. Will every car journey turn into a mindless activity? Or will we find something meaningful to do with this newfound “freedom”?

      This year, I feel bombarded by discussions about the exciting age of automation that lies ahead. Just today, The New York Times published an article about driverless big rigs hitting American roads. In one of the opening paragraphs, the writer depicts a scene inside one of these trucks' cabs: “In the back seat of the truck’s sunlit cabin, a middle-aged man was watching YouTube videos on his phone.”

      Naturally. Why meditate on your thoughts when you could be enjoying Mr. Beast’s latest stunt?

      At the same time, drivers in China are being offered advertisements through their infotainment screens, and it's likely that some version of this will happen in America as well.

      An illustration of Mercedes’ Drive Pilot Level 3 autonomous driving technology in operation. Mercedes-Benz

      This triggered a memory of something Doug DeMuro mentioned to me years ago. He expressed his excitement for driverless cars so he could have more time to attend to emails. I’m uncertain if he still holds that view or if he remembers our conversation, but it has stuck with me because I find it quite disheartening.

      The reality about emails, which those without office jobs might not realize, is that they never really end. You could spend your entire commute replying to emails, and once you reach your computer, there will still be more awaiting your attention.

      Now, to be fair, if your workday starts at 9 a.m., and you can leave at that time to head to the office, that’s a productivity win. However, it's hard to imagine that we'll truly have fully autonomous vehicles before we move past cubicle workspaces.

      The only thing that genuinely intrigues me about giving up driving would be the chance to sleep. I live roughly two hours from the nearest major airport, and after a long flight landing at 11 p.m., I would love it if my vehicle could autonomously take me back to my home in the countryside.

      So, this leads me to ask those of you who read this far: How do you envision spending your newfound “free time” in a car you don't control? As my colleague Byron Hurd questioned years ago, in our attempt to save lives with technology, will we end up dying from boredom?

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