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Abstract
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In 2018, Elon Musk claimed that the media ignore the benefits of automation and that the perils of automation receive disproportionate amounts of negative attention (Tesla 2018). At present, there are insufficient data to comment on whether Tesla's current Autopilot, or other types of (partially) automated driving systems, are safe or unsafe compared to manual driving, nor is the present commentary about Tesla per se. The quotes from Musk are included to illustrate the possible dangers of an overly sceptical attitude towards nascent technology.
In this brief commentary, it is suggested that an analogue of the problems raised by Musk is existent in the Human Factors and Ergonomics (HF/E) community, as exemplified by Hancock's (2019) contribution. I have also been guilty of using the same narrative, which goes as follows:
Beware of the pitfalls of automation: Humans are unable (or 'magnificently disqualified'; Hancock 2019) to remain situationally aware and attentive, and to take over control when the automation cannot handle a particular situation.
Along with this narrative, it is usually cautioned that automation does not replace human activity, but rather changes it (Parasuraman, Sheridan, and Wickens 2000) while classical works, such as Bainbridge's (1983) 'Ironies of automation', are invoked as well. Herein, it is argued that, although there is some truth in the above narrative, it is not fully rational.
As correctly pointed out by Musk, 1.2 million fatal road traffic accidents occur every year, mostly due to human error. It is plausible that automation, that is, the removal of the driver from the control loop, is the remedy to this public health problem. Although other solutions, such as improved driver training, stricter police enforcement, improved crashworthiness of cars, and safer roads have been tried for many decades, automation technology is perhaps the only viable candidate for preventing crashes where drivers fail to respond to hazards or lose control of their vehicle. Autonomous emergency braking (AEB), a basic form of automation, already helps to reduce crashes by substantial amounts (Cicchino 2017)... |