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I can't read the article, but if it leads to widespread adoption like the automobile was, I can see this being much worse for society than the car was. Some exa

I can't read the article, but if it leads to widespread adoption like the automobile was, I can see this being much worse for society than the car was. Some examples of the sort of things we can see: - Suburbs times 100. Now, the suburbs would be even less accessible as they wouldn't even be connected by roads. Coincidentally, they could be anywhere, which would spread out utilities and make them even more inefficient as they are now due to sprawl. - Much, much more expensive, both due to the complexity but due to insurance. Already cars are deadly and destructive, flying cars would lead to all sorts of accidents and property destruction given the difficulty of driving them especially by non-professionals. This too would probably be normalized like automobile destruction is but the actual cost will still exist and need to be subsidized by sky high insurance premiums - Further destruction of cities. Now, like wide streets and highways that demolished neighborhoods (often black and immigrant communities), we'd see calls for destruction of tall buildings for "the sake of safety" due to the common place destruction discussed earlier. Streets and walkways like sidewalks today would fall into disrepair, trees and monuments would be cut down or removed for safety, and so on. Then again, I don't think we'd get that far due to climate change, but this is just based on a historical understanding of what happened to the US since the 30's. I can see a much more atomized and disconnected society.

shamoo 6y ago
https://www.wsj.com/articles/japans-entry-in-flying-car-race-takes-to-the-air-11598691548?mod=djemalertNEWS https://www.wsj.com/articles/japans-entry-in-flying-car-race...
nwah1 6y ago
Other problems: 1) Terrorism. I know you mentioned property destruction, but intentional terrorism targeting humans is a real risk. Cars are already lethal weapons. Terrorists have used them to mow down dozens or hundreds of people at a time. Flying cars could become kamikaze weapons, or could be hacked into becoming them, with far more lethal potential. 9/11 was just a bigger version of this, so the precedent exists. Yet, there would be no TSA to protect you. Would we need civilian air defense turrets? 2) Noise. This would be huge, because rich neighborhoods that have frequent helicopter traffic are already flooded with complaints. If flying cars became commonplace, the noise issue would be dramatically worse than that. 3) Light pollution. We already have an issue of light pollution that makes stargazing and enjoying the night sky difficult. More importantly, it disrupts sleep patterns, which has all kinds of knock-on effects for society in terms of mental health, childhood development, accidents, and so on. Constant lights in the sky at night would be a nuisance that even high fences wouldn't block. 4) Inequality. Those who can afford the new vehicles, which will surely start out pricey, get to perform geo-arbitrage. They can buy cheaper land that hasn't yet factored in the new commuting realities, and yet make the same wages. Would be one extra hurdle for those trying to become upwardly mobile. One more huge debt burden to take on, while striving in the rat race.
- theklub 6y ago
  These are all already car issues. Terrorism seems to be over sold anyway.
dorkwood 6y ago
The same way pedestrians are discouraged from walking on the road, we may see people discouraged from walking outside in general. If you want to go for a walk, you can take your flying car to the designated walking park on the other side of the city.

shamoo 6y ago

https://www.wsj.com/articles/japans-entry-in-flying-car-race-takes-to-the-air-11598691548?mod=djemalertNEWS https://www.wsj.com/articles/japans-entry-in-flying-car-race...

nwah1 6y ago

Other problems: 1) Terrorism. I know you mentioned property destruction, but intentional terrorism targeting humans is a real risk. Cars are already lethal weapons. Terrorists have used them to mow down dozens or hundreds of people at a time. Flying cars could become kamikaze weapons, or could be hacked into becoming them, with far more lethal potential. 9/11 was just a bigger version of this, so the precedent exists. Yet, there would be no TSA to protect you. Would we need civilian air defense turrets? 2) Noise. This would be huge, because rich neighborhoods that have frequent helicopter traffic are already flooded with complaints. If flying cars became commonplace, the noise issue would be dramatically worse than that. 3) Light pollution. We already have an issue of light pollution that makes stargazing and enjoying the night sky difficult. More importantly, it disrupts sleep patterns, which has all kinds of knock-on effects for society in terms of mental health, childhood development, accidents, and so on. Constant lights in the sky at night would be a nuisance that even high fences wouldn't block. 4) Inequality. Those who can afford the new vehicles, which will surely start out pricey, get to perform geo-arbitrage. They can buy cheaper land that hasn't yet factored in the new commuting realities, and yet make the same wages. Would be one extra hurdle for those trying to become upwardly mobile. One more huge debt burden to take on, while striving in the rat race.

theklub 6y ago
These are all already car issues. Terrorism seems to be over sold anyway.

dorkwood 6y ago

The same way pedestrians are discouraged from walking on the road, we may see people discouraged from walking outside in general. If you want to go for a walk, you can take your flying car to the designated walking park on the other side of the city.