1984: Thread

[grarpamp]

Hey you stupid sheeple, wake the fuck up to what's
happening and how your freedom is getting fucked
away by design into oblivion... you like that don't you.


https://mises.org/wire/dystopian-future-which-almost-no-one-owns-car

The Dystopian Future In Which Almost No One Owns A Car
Authored by Zachary Yost via The Mises Institute,

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/04/03/coronavirus-stay-home-order-pa-woman-cited-after-going-drive/2942950001/
https://www.engadget.com/2020-02-07-tesla-model-s-fsd-issues.html
https://forums.tesla.com/discussion/35532/as-you-know-tesla-has-the-ability-to-remotely-disable-your-car-and-i-saw-their-factory-software-engi


By this point readers are more than familiar with the previously
unthinkable infringements on our traditional rights and liberties due
to “health and safety” lockdowns that the state has inflicted upon us
over the last year. While thankfully more and more restrictions are
being lifted, it is important not to forget the period of veritable
universal house arrest that was enacted in many states, in which even
the freedom to go for a drive was denied to us. It unfortunately seems
inevitable that we will face such scenarios again when a convenient
excuse comes along, though I fear that the next time will be even
worse thanks to the advent of self-driving cars.

Self-driving cars seem like a truly amazing advancement in human
technology. As someone who is not particularly fond of driving, I once
followed their development with great interest and hopeful
anticipation. However, the advent of lockdowns as an acceptable
government policy has shown just a taste of the kind of dangers that
would come with their widespread adoption. While they would liberate
us from many of the dangers of the road and free up time in which to
work or enjoy ourselves on a ride, the price of this liberation is
actually an unprecedented level of government control.

Some advocates of self-driving cars argue that their adoption would
mean that very few people would actually own a vehicle anymore, and
that instead everyone would basically Uber everywhere. Oftentimes such
predictions are espoused by people who lament how evil American
prosperity is and cringe at the thought of our car culture’s carbon
footprint.

It is not difficult to see how this could go very wrong. Can you
imagine how much worse government lockdowns would have been at their
height last year if the state merely needed to apply pressure to
Uber-like ride services to cease general operation to stop people from
moving? Ride services would almost certainly be forced to require
government-issued documents in order to book a ride in such a
scenario, leaving the vast majority of the population completely
stranded and unable to go anywhere.

Fortunately, there are many reasons to believe that without massive
government intervention America is not likely to willingly let go of
its deeply ingrained car culture in favor of ubiquitous Ubering.

However, even if people do own their self-driving cars, the danger remains.

Tesla is a case in point. Unlike a “traditional” car that drives off
the lot and disappears into the traffic, Tesla cars are perpetually
connected to the internet and Tesla itself. As the pioneer in
self-driving cars, it seems likely that other manufacturers will also
build around Tesla’s concept, which is itself similar to numerous
other “smart appliance” trends in everything from house lighting to
fridges, ovens, and washing machines. While this connectivity has
great uses, such as allowing repairs to be completed remotely, the
danger is obvious.

Customers have complained about having features of their Tesla being
removed without their notice or authorization, prompting one reporter
to remark that “if someone buys a used car with cruise control, there
isn't an expectation that the manufacturer will then arrive and ask to
remove it,” yet something similar has already happened. Similarly,
Tesla collects vast amounts of data from its cars, which is no doubt
useful and needed for continuing to improve the system and work out
kinks, but it is dangerously naïve to believe that such data would
remain outside the reach of the government if it wanted it.

Finally, the same danger with universal Ubering still remains. Tesla
or any self-driving car that would naturally require some level of
internet connection can be remotely shut down. As cool as Tesla may
seem, the odds are very slim that it would defy a state order to
render its fleet inoperable in the name of “public safety” or any
other excuse the government may come up with.

Think back to the hysteria of last spring. You are kidding yourself if
you believe that people like Governor Whitmer of Michigan wouldn’t
have ordered all cars rendered inoperable until “essential workers”
were granted permission to drive if such a thing had been within her
power.

The picture becomes even more bleak if one thinks of the nefarious
uses such control could be used for beyond “public health” lockdowns.
What if our current cancel culture craziness were to continue into a
death spiral that resulted in something akin to the Chinese social
credit system? Such a thing seems unthinkable—“this is America,” after
all. But if in 2019 we had been visited by a time traveler who told us
that in a year Americans would be forbidden from leaving their homes
or going to church and that businesses would be forced to close en
masse, we likely would have thought such a person was crazy. Yet here
we are.

It is easy to see all the benefits that would come with self-driving
cars, but at the end of the day the potential for dramatically
increased government control and abuse is horrifying to contemplate.