Why The FBI Is More Worried About Autonomous Cars Than Petrolheads

When Google’s autonomous car prototype was revealed, petrolheads the world over were far from thrilled and worried about a future of not being able to enjoy driving first hand anymore.

But it’s not just us car guys and girls that are worried. An internal FBI report obtained by The Guardian via a public records request revealed that the Bureau is concerned about the various dangers posed by the advent of autonomous cars.

The report warns that driverless cars could be used as “lethal weapons” and “will have a high impact on transforming what both law enforcement and its adversaries can operationally do with a car.” You can imagine various scary scenarios. For instance, being in a driverless car - if it could be reprogrammed to ignore speed limits and traffic signals - would make it far easier for a fleeing criminal to fire on chasing police vehicles. A driverless car could also be laden with explosives and used as a self-driving bomb.

The report does point out some positives too, especially for the emergency services. Examples include enabling first responders to get to call-outs both faster and safer, and improving the effectiveness of on-the-move surveillance.

What are your thoughts on autonomous vehicles now?