Are modern cars keeping us safe, or invading our privacy? Or both?
Modern cars have cameras to track your speed, your lane position, and if you're distracted, all in the name of safety. What about privacy?
The two things in the headline are not at all related. Car manufacturers just see an opportunity to dip into the data market to make even more money and an opportunity to sell subscriptions. None of that is about keeping people safe.
But because they both exist in the same car, same purchase, I don’t think it’s wrong to compare the two. Is it worth the safety to deal with the data privacy issues until laws and regulation catch up? As a solo person, no. If I were putting kids in my car? It would be hard to not be purchasing the safest vehicle out there even with the privacy issues.
TL;DR:
While there is still a trade-off between user privacy and quality of service, privacy-preserving data analytics techniques could pave the way for using data without leaking drivers’ and passengers’ personally identifiable information.
If could happen, but it won't.
I think modern modern cars are doing an ok job keeping us safe, but privacy wise hell no. I'm going going to stick with my junker that has a roll cage
better get a H.A.N.S. device, your crumple zones mean nothing now. /lh (just in case)
That's somewhat weird to me a tradeoff is necessary at all. Almost all the stuff mentioned (except "verifying the speed limit from your GPS position") is perfectly doable offline without sending stuff to their servers. Yeah, sure, they need "data" to improve the technology, but I fail to see how exactly that's my problem: I pay for a car, not for the pleasure of participating in a research they do to make it work.
The second. Cars are in the top 3 causes of death they ain't keeping us safe at all.
I'd hardly fair to blame the cars for safety when they basically let anyone get one even if they're incapable of using it responsibly.
It’s entirely fair to blame the cars, and trucks and suvs specifically with their ever growing size, weight and decreasing field of view.
People are obsessed with safety.
People don't give a shit about privacy either so long as it comes with a free Starbucks or Amazon gift card.
What I'm trying to say is, life in general isn't safe. And privacy is a myth
NOW privacy is a lie, but I don’t think the concept of privacy is a myth. On every single privacy policy, the first line is “your privacy is important to us.” But scroll down and actually read the relevant paragraphs and you’ll see your privacy is the least of their concerns.
You’re right, people on the whole generally don’t give a shit about their privacy. Look at the Snowden revelations. The country kinda went, “…eh…” and shrugged their shoulders. But there are plenty of us who wish that weren’t the case and do our best to stay private now. We are all complicit in handing over all of our most private data. Because we buy things and just click on the “accept” button.
But it didn’t have to be this way. Because privacy can exist. And did exist. But we signed it all away for cheaper tech and more “convenient” functionality.
Ban cars