Google Self Driving Car Takes Autonomy In Vehicles Too Far

The Google Machine, as it’s known by many, is the unparalleled leader of the online search game. And while it may take a monopolistic approach to this realm, there aren’t too many complaints from the general public. Let Google rule the online world – we’re all happy to have the answers to our questions at our fingertips. But now, the Google Machine seems to be wanting more…and the latest venture is to produce real machines – as in the Google Self Driving Car.

Every time I read about an autonomous car, I cringe. Being a car lover, it’s difficult for me to imagine a world where we aren’t piloting our own rides. It actually makes me very sad, to be honest. Because it comes at the same time that there are some awesome things happening for auto enthusiasts. See: the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat. Pushing down on the pedal and having 707 horses respond is a dream scenario…especially when compared to sitting down and letting a machine take you to your destination.

I always took solace in the thought that the technology was so far off into the future that I wouldn’t even have to worry about it. Maybe I’d be dead by the time autonomous cars really came around. One could hope, right? But no, here comes Google ramming their car down our throats as a working version. I realize other car companies are making these vehicles as well, but the fact that Google stepped into the ring makes me think the entire progression is going to be fast-tracked. At the very least, it won’t allow me to live out my life without seeing it.

If I wasn’t upset enough about this development, Google made their car look like absolute hell. It looks like a Fiat 500 that was stripped of any design cues and left in primer. And they didn’t even give it a steering wheel as an option or backup – something that differs from the major automakers. Before the Google Self-Driving Car, the talk from other automakers was that the driver would still be in control and be the “final say” in the process. But Google wants to show off and take the driver out of it completely, because “they don’t need to be involved.”

Then came the final insult – the assumption that we would all be pumped about this. “It’s going to be incredibly empowering, incredibly powerful for people,” said Google Self Driving Cars Director Chris Urmson. That’s right – INCREDIBLY empowering. Because there’s nothing more empowering than sitting in a car with no steering wheel doing absolutely nothing. Truly a monumental time in American history.

It reminds me of the movie “WALL-E” where everyone is just scooting around on a track, lounging back and sucking down a liquid meal while talking to a screen. Google is slowly turning our lives into that. We can stare at their devices, using their search engine, while their car drives us around.

I can’t just accept this as “the future” and “progress” – and neither should you. The American tradition is to control your transportation – from horses by the early pioneers, to the first cars on dirt roads to the current tire-smoking Challenger Hellcat. Let’s not lose who we are.