WHY SOCIOLOGISTS AND PSYCHOLOGISTSD NEED TO BE IN THE AUTO INDUSTRY
We are at the beginning of the new AI/auto/transportation evolution/revolution. The H
The plain fact is that we are incorporating mosre new features in our technoogy faster than ever before. There is a human interaction factor that most manufacturer’s have not really been discussing. The personal relationship with have with our technology.
Here is a matter of fact. People with disabilities who have relied on various forms of tech. People in general assign human characteristcs to their cars, apliances, and especially their cars.
The previous post already highlighted some problems with the research around self-driving….. However these have revolved around safety not matters of identification with a person’s current car. For example, subjects are not asked how well they like their current car before they are asked how well they would like some future car. Agood social scientist would never dream of making such a research mistake. There has been very little analysis done on the disatisfaction or lack of enthusiasm factors.
In my particualr case, I am a person with a disability who can’t wait for a redesign of our transportation system and perhaps one in which I had the opportunity to direct the use of an automobile in an independent or interdependent fashion. We haven’t asked “If you had to chooose between having no options and Self-driving options which would you choose? I haven’t seen that survey. A good sociologist would have done this research and a good psycholgist would have been studying the personality characteristics of early adopters and how to draw them into the marker for early renditions of autonomous vehicles.
I was overjoyed today to see that Apple was getting into the marketplace for this technology. They have been through this with the smart phone and have mstered the art of introducing new expectations. What we used to call a phone would barely be recognized by most children today.
Now let’s turn to a second group of people that would n benefits from social sciences becoming involved. To date I have not seen studies that feature current car mechanics regarding their willingness to recieve training on this new tech. Car Makers and citites hoping to modernize fast could make great strides by involving the current “support” team of the car and making sure they felt secure about their future when new tech is rolled out. I have not heard of a sngle major car maker making this training available to “Mom and Pop organizations. We may need some adjustment counseling for people who lose their jobs to “robots” and I haven’t seen this as a specialization to any great extent anywhere.
Then finally there is really hasn’t been any studies done that are meant to bridge the differences that will happpen when there are a certain element of people who are in the backlash group and tohers pressing for faster advancements. The problem with this is hat it keeps millions of people with disabilities from having access right now and who knows for how long? Do I hate my local mechanic… no, but i hate the fact that no one is including him or her at the table and no one is inviting me to the table in any great numbers as we try to make this much needed transformation. For example have auto makers sent out the data stating that our current transportation system is costing us 19 billion dollars a year as taxpayers because people they are likely to know have to miss appointments? The three mechanics I have encountered since i learned this factg were astounded and nos have a far more positive attitude toward the future of new vehicle consfigurations.
The bottom line a good group of socilogists and psychologists could use this industry as a training lab as we are likely to go through similar transitions s in healthcare and other industires. Somebody needs to be learning the lessons (including the mistakes) s tat as arace humans don’t have to reinvent the wheel so to speak.
More on who should be at the table in the next ost.
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