Tools, not beings

Ten years ago, Steve Mahan became the world’s first passenger in a fully self-driving automobile on public roads—without a safety driver. It had been 12 years since Steve had that level of independence due to losing his vision beyond the legally blind threshold. At that time, Google’s self-driving car project unveiled a vision for the future of self-driving automobiles. That was a decade ago. Over the past few months, I have explored recent automobile automation technologies. When I asked a friend recently if he wanted to test drive a Tesla, he responded, “No, I want it to drive me.” With grins on our faces, many of my friends and I have been amazed at Tesla’s Full Self-Driving capability.

My recent experience with self-driving cars has dusted off memories from more than 25 years ago. In 1998 as recent college graduates, my wife and I moved away from our home state of Arkansas for the first time ever in our lives. Our destination was graduate school in Indiana. On those long exhausting drives between Arkansas and Indiana, I imagined a system where cars could enter a dedicated lane and connect to a high-speed trolly system. We could nap or study without having to operate or navigate the vehicle. My dream eventually faded, but self-driving ideas continued. In the mid-2000s, multiple government-funded DARPA Challenges propelled the technology forward to today’s self-driving industry.

This past month, Waymo announced another partnership to bring autonomous rides to Nashville. Waymo currently has partnerships with both Uber and Lyft to expand their robotaxi service. Across five U.S. cities, Waymo states that they currently offer “hundreds of thousands of autonomous rides each week,” and their plans are expanding to several more cities soon. In addition to Waymo, automobile and tech companies are stepping up to the self-driving technology plate.

While researching several sources on self-driving cars, I noticed the widespread use of the word autonomy to describe automation. This misapplied use of the idea to govern oneself caused me to pause. My reaction was that machines are not autonomous. To my delight, SAE International, formerly the Society of Automotive Engineers, addressed this misnomer in its standard by which companies and governments classify the various levels of automation in driving systems. It clearly states that the most advanced systems are not self-governing. Therefore, the standard to which all self-driving entities refer makes this distinction clear. Nevertheless, popular redefinition continues to blur the line between automation and autonomy.

I believe automation technology will significantly change the future of driving. In fact, leading developers have already made impressive progress. If you have not driven a self-driving vehicle, I recommend doing a test drive of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving or a similar product. It is impressive but not perfect—but neither are we. By far, the leading cause of auto accidents is human error. Automated driving technologies have advanced to the point of significantly reducing accidents, yet automation will not replace our autonomy.

For people like Steve Mahan, automation has restored and expanded his freedoms. These systems aid our self-governance. They do not replace it. Automation promises greater safety, efficiency, and accessibility. Apply this to people with disabilities, seniors, medical conditions and emergencies, driver fatigue, logistics, delivery, and much more. I am convinced that automation in vehicles will change society.

As Christians, we should promote new designs and prospects that improve our lives. The advancement of self-driving technology alone is an impressive engineering creation. As sub-creators made in the image of God, we should champion the good, the true, and the beautiful when we see both the creation and human creations that declare the glory of God.

Self-rule is another reflection of being made in the image of God. When we think of autonomy, we should start with God as the highest being. His authority is absolute. He rules over all and creates out of nothing. God alone is self-sufficient and self-existent. Our ability to create and exercise self-rule is derivative of God’s nature. In the imago dei, we also actively reflect His image and reign by exercising dominion.

The creation mandate still applies to self-driving cars. We are called to steward creation, not be ruled by it. With new and ever-changing automated technology, opportunities abound. Many changes are afoot. Self-driving vehicles will change how we travel, but they will not govern us. They are tools, not beings. We should use our autonomy to be found faithful and good stewards of technology. But we would be wise to be careful how we speak of autonomy.