I was leaving uni yesterday, and as I was crossing the street, I came across this funky-looking car. It had an unusual siren-shaped device on its roof, and I made sure to take a photo as I headed off.
Turns out, that was a camera. That said, I'm not sure what else it could have been - not everyday you see random sirens on private vehicles!
The car belonged to Waymo, a name I'd heard before but couldn't put my finger on where - at first, I thought it might have been one of the vehicles they use for Google Street View. Well, I looked up Waymo today, and...
...it's driverless cars. Hmmm, not sure what to think of that.
Waymo's been around for ages, but I've never actually seen one of their vehicles before. It does seem like all their models require a massive camera stuck on top of the car, and I get why. Driverless cars inherently pose a greater risk to the road because there doesn't need to be a driver in full control of the vehicle at all times. Therefore, you need sensors to help orientate your car around to make sure it doesn't do something stupid, like crash into someone or something.
However, I'm not sure if any of this is a good thing. Do I really want to be recorded when crossing the street? I'm aware this might not necessarily be used by Waymo, as in they're not going to watch the footage and gawk all over my face. I have checked their privacy policy, though, which was linked on the side of the car, which stated "we will collect, analyse and store [...] information collected by vehicle cameras and microphones [...] to conduct research, develop and promote new products and services and to improve or modify our existing services".
Hmmm...now, to be fair, I might be a bit hypocritical in being annoyed by this. I've used AI chatbots before, as well as smartphones and search engines, which all collect information that you give to them. To be clear, I'm not exactly worried by a Waymo car capturing my face and what they'll do with it, but I am a bit concerned over where all this is heading in the future.
A little while back, I was in Victoria station, on my way to uni, when I noticed the Met Police were piloting a new facial recognition scheme. Now that irks me more. I know it's not the first time they've ever used it - they trialled it in Croydon last year. That said, there is something slightly unsettling about being tracked when you're out and about, minding your own business.
I'm not saying this is "literally 1984"; I don't think we're anywhere near a totalitarian society where Big Brother controls our every move, where our very language is controlled by the state, and where we have telescreens watching over us no matter what. We might be on the verge of that, and I suspect with AI developments and prolific technological innovations, I wouldn't be surprised if the government took on all this with glee.
I'm also not saying the police shouldn't do their jobs. I am well aware of CCTV, and I'm not someone who will become so paranoid I'll wrap myself in tin foil to stop the radiowaves from tracking me. However, I am also concerned about how far all this could go. I wonder if there's even a legal framework limiting the amount of live facial recognition you can do. According to Liberty, a human rights organisation, there is none (as of June this year).
I wonder if we should be living in a world where bloody cars are recording us. What do you think?
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