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I also find worrying that all these developments have on the horizon an extreme individualistic view of society. Why nobody is considering the option that you m

I also find worrying that all these developments have on the horizon an extreme individualistic view of society. Why nobody is considering the option that you might have a self-driving car whose ownership is shared among different family groups (e.g. all the people in the same apt block)?

nerdponx 10y ago
I never even thought to consider it. But now that you mention it, it's a great idea. In the United States at least, we have been indoctrinated into this idea that cars are in individual possession, when really if you look at what our car is and does that makes very little sense.
- ghthor 10y ago
  We've also been indoctrinated that living out of our car is shameful or below us, which is sad. With the current state of our tech we could build an amazingly small moving vehicle that also could operate as a 2 person, bed, kitchen, and food storage locker. Combine that with automation and a sane wireless tech and you're now equipped a fully mobile human being.
  - JoeAltmaier 10y ago
    Doubly odd in that, if you reduce further to a backpack then you're back to a romantic figure, roughing it in the wild.
  - nerdponx 10y ago
    The current doctrines are ideal for big business: make sure they buy a house (support the Realtors), and make sure they buy a car (support the auto industry).
    - nradov 10y ago
      The current doctrines are ideal for people who enjoy having some privacy, space, and freedom to customize their environments.
- nradov 10y ago
  The people who make these type of naïve comments are usually urban residents without young children. Try installing and removing a pair of child seats in a car every time you want to use it and then you'll understand why most of us prefer to have cars as individual possessions. Plus all the other stuff I keep in my cars all the time: tools, first aid, safety equipment, phone charging cables, etc.
  - nerdponx 10y ago
    Did I ever say that rural families shouldn't own cars?
apercu 10y ago
I think the issue is one of people taking care of a shared vehicle, and having it be clean when you want to use it. I've seen some disgusting cars.
- gcr 10y ago
  I don't think I buy that. The same argument can be said for any physical good. Sure, some people mistreat library books. But most of the books in the library are in reasonable condition because most folks respect the value that the library creates. We could perhaps create a system where the driver could rate the car's previous condition, which would be reflected on the score of the previous driver. That way, there's an incentive to leave the car in better condition than you found it.
  - Heliosmaster 10y ago
    I agree: it's surprising what happens when you give people freedom and responsibility. There are some bad apples here and there, but mostly good things happen :) In a sense, what you suggested happens already with rental cars: when you get one, you have to make sure to write down (and take pictures) of all the defects / bumps, otherwise they might be deemed new and your fault. Something similar could easily happen, even though what I was envisioning was more of a friendly and colloquial environment.
marssaxman 10y ago
I think lots of people are considering that option, but they're going further - why stop at an apartment block? Here in Seattle, we already have three citywide fleets of pay-as-you-go car services: Zipcar, Car2Go, and ReachNow. We've already left the extreme individualistic model behind - you no longer have to own a vehicle personally, you can simply use a shared car whenever you need to drive somewhere. With Car2Go and ReachNow, you're not even using a specific shared car - you just look on the map, walk over to whichever car happens to be parked nearest, hop in and go, then leave it parked at your destination. Maybe you'll drive the same car home, or maybe there'll be a different one; it doesn't really matter. By the time self-driving car technology works well enough for general use, I expect this model will have become so common that most people will never buy - or even consider buying - their own personal self-driving car. Instead, we'll sign up for services that combine the "fleet of shared vehicles" model with the "ride-sharing app" model. You won't have to purchase the vehicle, pay for parking space, or worry about maintenance; you'll merely download an app and use it to summon a car when you want to take a ride somewhere.

nerdponx 10y ago

I never even thought to consider it. But now that you mention it, it's a great idea. In the United States at least, we have been indoctrinated into this idea that cars are in individual possession, when really if you look at what our car is and does that makes very little sense.

ghthor 10y ago
We've also been indoctrinated that living out of our car is shameful or below us, which is sad. With the current state of our tech we could build an amazingly small moving vehicle that also could operate as a 2 person, bed, kitchen, and food storage locker. Combine that with automation and a sane wireless tech and you're now equipped a fully mobile human being.
- JoeAltmaier 10y ago
  Doubly odd in that, if you reduce further to a backpack then you're back to a romantic figure, roughing it in the wild.
- nerdponx 10y ago
  The current doctrines are ideal for big business: make sure they buy a house (support the Realtors), and make sure they buy a car (support the auto industry).
  - nradov 10y ago
    The current doctrines are ideal for people who enjoy having some privacy, space, and freedom to customize their environments.
nradov 10y ago
The people who make these type of naïve comments are usually urban residents without young children. Try installing and removing a pair of child seats in a car every time you want to use it and then you'll understand why most of us prefer to have cars as individual possessions. Plus all the other stuff I keep in my cars all the time: tools, first aid, safety equipment, phone charging cables, etc.
- nerdponx 10y ago
  Did I ever say that rural families shouldn't own cars?

apercu 10y ago

I think the issue is one of people taking care of a shared vehicle, and having it be clean when you want to use it. I've seen some disgusting cars.

gcr 10y ago
I don't think I buy that. The same argument can be said for any physical good. Sure, some people mistreat library books. But most of the books in the library are in reasonable condition because most folks respect the value that the library creates. We could perhaps create a system where the driver could rate the car's previous condition, which would be reflected on the score of the previous driver. That way, there's an incentive to leave the car in better condition than you found it.
- Heliosmaster 10y ago
  I agree: it's surprising what happens when you give people freedom and responsibility. There are some bad apples here and there, but mostly good things happen :) In a sense, what you suggested happens already with rental cars: when you get one, you have to make sure to write down (and take pictures) of all the defects / bumps, otherwise they might be deemed new and your fault. Something similar could easily happen, even though what I was envisioning was more of a friendly and colloquial environment.

marssaxman 10y ago

I think lots of people are considering that option, but they're going further - why stop at an apartment block? Here in Seattle, we already have three citywide fleets of pay-as-you-go car services: Zipcar, Car2Go, and ReachNow. We've already left the extreme individualistic model behind - you no longer have to own a vehicle personally, you can simply use a shared car whenever you need to drive somewhere. With Car2Go and ReachNow, you're not even using a specific shared car - you just look on the map, walk over to whichever car happens to be parked nearest, hop in and go, then leave it parked at your destination. Maybe you'll drive the same car home, or maybe there'll be a different one; it doesn't really matter. By the time self-driving car technology works well enough for general use, I expect this model will have become so common that most people will never buy - or even consider buying - their own personal self-driving car. Instead, we'll sign up for services that combine the "fleet of shared vehicles" model with the "ride-sharing app" model. You won't have to purchase the vehicle, pay for parking space, or worry about maintenance; you'll merely download an app and use it to summon a car when you want to take a ride somewhere.