The Privacy Risks of Driverless Cars: How far are we willing to go to prevent crime and provide convenience?

Driverless cars offer many benefits, such as reducing traffic accidents and road congestion, but they can also compromise users’ privacy by having their routes determined by a centralized control center. While there are positive aspects, such as crime prevention, there is an urgent need for legal and technological measures to protect privacy, given the negative side effects of governments and companies holding vast amounts of personal data.

 

A driverless car is a car that drives itself without the driver’s control once a destination is set. These driverless cars will not operate independently like current cars, but will be integrated as part of the transportation system. In other words, being part of the transportation system means that the route is determined by a centralized control center using GPS and radar, and the vehicle is driven accordingly. This can lead to fewer accidents and less congestion on the roads because no human is driving the car. However, the connected nature of driverless cars means that the entire system is connected and can see where you’re going, what route you’re taking, and more. This, in turn, leads to privacy concerns. However, the discussion around driverless cars is mostly centered on legal, insurance, and ethical issues, so privacy hasn’t been a big issue. However, it is an important issue that requires deep reflection and action.
As mentioned earlier, collecting information about users is inevitable due to the nature of driverless cars. However, there is also a positive side to this. For example, AI can help prevent crime, track criminals, and investigate crimes. This perspective has been termed “intelligent robotics and criminal justice,” and the use of driverless cars and unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) are cited as key examples.
However, the use of driverless cars and unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) may invade the privacy of an unspecified number of people. In particular, Google, which is currently leading the development of driverless cars, is likely to collect a lot of personal information about where you go, how often you go, and where you are. Even if Google’s data collection is unavoidable, if the government uses it to prevent crime, it could jeopardize the privacy of innocent people who have nothing to do with the crime. Furthermore, there is the possibility that this information could be used for criminal purposes. Considering that hackers from the NSA have manipulated driverless cars in the past, we can’t ignore the fact that this could happen. While driverless cars could make criminal investigations more efficient and reduce crime rates, the risks are significant.
This issue can be understood from two perspectives: security and privacy. Those who argue that privacy should be sacrificed for security say that if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. However, there is a flaw in the logic that if you’re not doing anything wrong, it’s okay for everything about you to be monitored. In a society where privacy is not guaranteed, personal information is overexposed in the name of security, and individuals are not free to enjoy their lives. In other words, individuals are forced to follow implicit commands to be conscious of others and live up to expectations when their every move is monitored by a third party. In other words, they are forced to act according to the expectations of others. This problem is well illustrated in Franz Kafka’s The Judgment. In the novel, the power of the court subjugates people, and this subjugation neutralizes the individual and eventually reduces them to a state of absolute submission. Of course, the novel draws extreme conclusions on issues of security and privacy, but it is clear that without privacy, we cannot judge and act freely.
Even if the information about driverless cars is not used by the government, and companies have it in their systems, problems can arise. For one thing, it increases the risk of privacy breaches. Currently, there have been a number of incidents at companies such as credit card companies, either due to carelessness on the part of employees or malicious leaks by internal employees, which have caused public anxiety. Regardless of the source of the leak, it is mostly due to poor information management. There is no guarantee that such breaches will not occur in the future when driverless cars are commercialized. In fact, it’s possible that even more personal information will be leaked, leaving users with no guarantee of safety. Therefore, it is not right for companies to collect data. The issue of companies collecting data is actually included in the driverless car guidelines published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). These guidelines emphasize establishing processes that minimize security risks.
In the end, it’s thought to be best for both governments and companies to minimize the amount of information they have on driverless cars. While governments may be provided with information related to criminals for security purposes, they should not collect data on all users’ trips in order to reduce the incidence of crime itself. If access to data from driverless cars is necessary, such as for a criminal investigation, it should operate similarly to the way CCTV currently operates: only records that are fit for purpose should be stored and made accessible, and records should be kept of who viewed what, when, and by whom. Access to information should be completely restricted except in special cases.
As technology advances, it makes our lives easier, but it also requires a corresponding evolution of measures. These measures can be technical solutions through the development of new technologies, or they can be legislative measures created through debate. This is the case with driverless cars. While driverless cars offer many benefits, such as reducing the incidence of accidents and easing traffic congestion, the connected nature of the whole system can raise privacy concerns. While this can be utilized to help prevent crime, the negative side is that governments and companies will have a vast amount of user information. Therefore, before driverless cars are actively deployed, we need to think more deeply about privacy issues and prepare appropriate technical and legal measures.