Smart Cars: Motivated by Safety or Efficiency?

The engineers at IBM are pairing up with major automotive manufacturers to produce cars that increase communication between three entities that come into contact with each other every time you go for a ride: cars, roads, and drivers (http://www.technologyreview.com/communications/19017/?mod=related).

The mathematicians and engineers behind IBM's "Smarter Planet" initiative are always looking for ways to make data useful. As people continually instrument the world, more and more data is becoming available in almost all aspects of our lives. From health care to business intelligence, in many ways we have become inundated by data. The trick is to make sense of that data and turn it into information that people can uses in ways that positively change the way we live. In this instance IBMers are crunching the data to help the driver get the right information at the right time, and they are not the only ones.

Imagine your car driving you safely to work Monday morning while you catch a few more Zs before the kick-off meeting.

IBM's smarter driving initiative could be a game changer in the everyday life of the average American businessman or woman who is results and productivity driven, but sometimes lacks the safety awareness on the road caused by the gross popularity of smart devices like the iPhone, Android, and Blackberry handheld systems. While I am sure the IBM employees are motivated to increase safety awareness and reduce the millions of people affected by car accidents every year (including myself as a victim of drunk driving), if IBM perfects an "auto-pilot" function for terrestrial vehicular travel, many American workers may get their wish to extend the workday a couple of hours, while paying for their own electronic chauffeur to afford themselves the ability to be constantly connected to the mobile, digital work environment.

It is worth while to mention that there may be serious negative side effects of a safer, more work efficient commute. As with all rules-based technology, those that know how to bend the rules and have access to your system can take control of it. Cyber threat actors may eventually look to exploit these new devices and could introduce mayhem and terror on the highways by taking control of peoples vehicles. Think about it...