Debating driverless futures: Anticipatory governance and responsible innovation for self-driving cars
Lead Research Organisation:
University College London
Department Name: Science and Technology Studies
Abstract
In the middle of the afternoon on May 7th, 2016, near Williston, Florida, Joshua Brown joined the long list of fatalities on the world's roads. However, his death was different. He was his car's only occupant but, as far as we know, he was not driving. His car was in 'Autopilot' mode. The technology in his Tesla Model S that was designed to keep him safe failed to see a white truck that was crossing his carriageway against the bright white sky behind it. Brown's Tesla hit the trailer at 74mph, after which it left the road and hit a post. Had the car veered left instead of right, crossing onto the opposite carriageway, the world's first fatal self-driving car crash could have caused a higher death toll and even greater controversy.
Self-driving cars promise to be one of the most disruptive technologies of the early 21st Century. Enthusiasts for the technology think that it could solve problems such as access to transport for disabled people, traffic jams and hundreds of thousands of deaths on the road each year, most of which are cause by human error. Some companies say they will sell self-driving cars as early as 2018. Governments in the UK and elsewhere see huge potential in securing economic growth and new high-tech jobs for their populations. The UK's Industrial Strategy has prioritised self-driving cars and increased investment in the machine learning technologies that will allow computers to replace humans behind the wheel. Morgan Stanley, an investment bank, forecasts a multi-trillion dollar global market with billions of extra dollars in productivity gains in a 'New Auto Industry Paradigm'. The consultancy firm KPMG calls self-driving cars 'The Next Revolution'.
The typical approach to a new technology is for society to understand its effects only in hindsight. For self-driving cars, this would be a bad idea. Policymakers, innovators and the public risk sleepwalking into a future in which technology worsens inequality and loses public trust. The history of the car in the 20th Century shows us that, while technologies can have enormous benefits, they can also cause harm and lock society into new ways of living that then prove hard to change. For self-driving cars, the question is whether we can develop a more alert approach to the technology as it is emerging, before it becomes part of our everyday lives. Rather than innovation being 'driverless', we should look for ways in which innovators and policymakers can take responsibility for the futures they help create.
To maximise the public benefits of self-driving cars, we should scrutinise innovations and policies that are currently underway. The engineering of our future transport systems is too important to be left to engineers alone. There is a need for democratic discussion of the opportunities and uncertainties of self-driving cars. Rather than guessing at the hopes and fears of consumers and citizens, we should instead ask people what they really think.
In 2017, the House of Lords science and technology committee concluded, "There is a clear need for further Government-commissioned social and economic research to weigh the potential human and financial implications of CAV (Connected and Autonomous Vehicles)." But, while investment in self-driving cars currently totals around $80 billion, there is almost no social science exploring public views about what self-driving cars could mean for the future of transport. This proposal is for the world's first major social science project to bring the public voice into the debate on the future of self-driving cars.
Self-driving cars promise to be one of the most disruptive technologies of the early 21st Century. Enthusiasts for the technology think that it could solve problems such as access to transport for disabled people, traffic jams and hundreds of thousands of deaths on the road each year, most of which are cause by human error. Some companies say they will sell self-driving cars as early as 2018. Governments in the UK and elsewhere see huge potential in securing economic growth and new high-tech jobs for their populations. The UK's Industrial Strategy has prioritised self-driving cars and increased investment in the machine learning technologies that will allow computers to replace humans behind the wheel. Morgan Stanley, an investment bank, forecasts a multi-trillion dollar global market with billions of extra dollars in productivity gains in a 'New Auto Industry Paradigm'. The consultancy firm KPMG calls self-driving cars 'The Next Revolution'.
The typical approach to a new technology is for society to understand its effects only in hindsight. For self-driving cars, this would be a bad idea. Policymakers, innovators and the public risk sleepwalking into a future in which technology worsens inequality and loses public trust. The history of the car in the 20th Century shows us that, while technologies can have enormous benefits, they can also cause harm and lock society into new ways of living that then prove hard to change. For self-driving cars, the question is whether we can develop a more alert approach to the technology as it is emerging, before it becomes part of our everyday lives. Rather than innovation being 'driverless', we should look for ways in which innovators and policymakers can take responsibility for the futures they help create.
To maximise the public benefits of self-driving cars, we should scrutinise innovations and policies that are currently underway. The engineering of our future transport systems is too important to be left to engineers alone. There is a need for democratic discussion of the opportunities and uncertainties of self-driving cars. Rather than guessing at the hopes and fears of consumers and citizens, we should instead ask people what they really think.
In 2017, the House of Lords science and technology committee concluded, "There is a clear need for further Government-commissioned social and economic research to weigh the potential human and financial implications of CAV (Connected and Autonomous Vehicles)." But, while investment in self-driving cars currently totals around $80 billion, there is almost no social science exploring public views about what self-driving cars could mean for the future of transport. This proposal is for the world's first major social science project to bring the public voice into the debate on the future of self-driving cars.
Planned Impact
This project would be the first major UK social science research effort into the uncertainties and possibilities of self-driving car technology. It is designed to be timely and relevant to ongoing policy and technology debates. Self-driving debates have so far been heavily US focussed. However, approaches across different jurisdictions will depend on legacies and cultures of transport. With its strong culture of public transport, the UK has an opportunity to offer an alternative, socially-robust mode of governance. Our project would contribute towards shaping this.
The team's track record in high-impact research is outstanding. Stilgoe has worked for Demos and the Royal Society and advised the UK Research Councils, the European Commission, Nesta and others on emerging technology governance. His framework for Responsible Innovation (with Macnaghten and Owen) has contributed to the shaping of Research Council policy. He has been an expert witness for the Select Committees of both Houses of Parliament. Jones is a leading transport adviser at urban, national and European levels. He is a member of the Independent Transport Commission and the London Roads Task Force. Cohen is an experienced transport consultant and adviser, having worked in the private, public and academic sectors. Parkhurst has been one of the UK's first social researchers to develop work into AVs. Winfield has been a leading voice in early policy debates about the governance of robotics and AI and a pioneer of the emerging field of robot ethics. The team's continued engagement in this debate will be supported by a research and impact assistant, who will be responsible for managing the project's online presence, supporting the project advisory board and engaging with the project's wider network of stakeholders.
The project will make substantial contributions to two areas of policy: first, transport and, secondly, data and machine learning. The project could not be more timely. Both policy areas are changing rapidly and in need of social scientific insight. The 2017 Budget announced plans for cars without drivers on UK roads by 2021. An AVs bill, proposing substantial changes to insurance is currently making its way through parliament. Trials on public London roads are due to begin in early 2019. The National Infrastructure Commission will explore preparing UK roads for driverless cars. The 2017 Budget also announced a Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation. As the General Data Protection Regulation enters law and the UK leaves the European Union, the regulatory landscape will change, creating new questions and new opportunities for social science.
Early policy reports have outlined what is at stake with AVs. The Council for Science and Technology (2015) recommended to the Prime Minister that, "The UK should not just be a playground to test autonomous and connected vehicles without retaining any of the value." David Begg's (2014) 2050 Vision for London concludes that, "automated vehicles have great potential. But we must not allow them to shape our cities in the way the internal combustion engine was allowed to in the last century". A major finding of the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee (2017) was that "There is a clear need for further Government-commissioned social and economic research to weigh the potential human and financial implications of [AVs]".
The approach to maximising impact will be to include stakeholders upstream and throughout the life of the project, in particular through the project advisory group. Representatives from Bosch, CCAV, the Transport Systems Catapult and the StreetWise and Capri trials have agreed to join the group and contribute their expertise to the project (see attached letters of support). The advisory group will help steer the project towards greater relevance for corporate R&D and policy and play a valuable role in promoting project findings.
The team's track record in high-impact research is outstanding. Stilgoe has worked for Demos and the Royal Society and advised the UK Research Councils, the European Commission, Nesta and others on emerging technology governance. His framework for Responsible Innovation (with Macnaghten and Owen) has contributed to the shaping of Research Council policy. He has been an expert witness for the Select Committees of both Houses of Parliament. Jones is a leading transport adviser at urban, national and European levels. He is a member of the Independent Transport Commission and the London Roads Task Force. Cohen is an experienced transport consultant and adviser, having worked in the private, public and academic sectors. Parkhurst has been one of the UK's first social researchers to develop work into AVs. Winfield has been a leading voice in early policy debates about the governance of robotics and AI and a pioneer of the emerging field of robot ethics. The team's continued engagement in this debate will be supported by a research and impact assistant, who will be responsible for managing the project's online presence, supporting the project advisory board and engaging with the project's wider network of stakeholders.
The project will make substantial contributions to two areas of policy: first, transport and, secondly, data and machine learning. The project could not be more timely. Both policy areas are changing rapidly and in need of social scientific insight. The 2017 Budget announced plans for cars without drivers on UK roads by 2021. An AVs bill, proposing substantial changes to insurance is currently making its way through parliament. Trials on public London roads are due to begin in early 2019. The National Infrastructure Commission will explore preparing UK roads for driverless cars. The 2017 Budget also announced a Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation. As the General Data Protection Regulation enters law and the UK leaves the European Union, the regulatory landscape will change, creating new questions and new opportunities for social science.
Early policy reports have outlined what is at stake with AVs. The Council for Science and Technology (2015) recommended to the Prime Minister that, "The UK should not just be a playground to test autonomous and connected vehicles without retaining any of the value." David Begg's (2014) 2050 Vision for London concludes that, "automated vehicles have great potential. But we must not allow them to shape our cities in the way the internal combustion engine was allowed to in the last century". A major finding of the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee (2017) was that "There is a clear need for further Government-commissioned social and economic research to weigh the potential human and financial implications of [AVs]".
The approach to maximising impact will be to include stakeholders upstream and throughout the life of the project, in particular through the project advisory group. Representatives from Bosch, CCAV, the Transport Systems Catapult and the StreetWise and Capri trials have agreed to join the group and contribute their expertise to the project (see attached letters of support). The advisory group will help steer the project towards greater relevance for corporate R&D and policy and play a valuable role in promoting project findings.
Publications
Winfield AFT
(2022)
IEEE Standard 7001-2021 for Transparency of Autonomous Systems
Winfield AFT
(2022)
An Ethical Black Box for Social Robots: a draft Open Standard
Winfield AFT
(2021)
IEEE P7001: A Proposed Standard on Transparency.
in Frontiers in robotics and AI
Winfield A
(2019)
Ethical standards in robotics and AI
in Nature Electronics
Winfield A
(2021)
Software Engineering for Robotics
Whittle C
(2019)
User decision-making in transitions to electrified, autonomous, shared or reduced mobility
in Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment
Tennant C
(2021)
The attachments of 'autonomous' vehicles.
in Social studies of science
Tennant C
(2021)
Building the UK vision of a driverless future: A Parliamentary Inquiry case study
in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications
Tennant C
(2021)
Code, Culture, and Concrete: Self-Driving Vehicles and the Rules of the Road
in Frontiers in Sustainable Cities
Stilgoe J
(2023)
What does it mean to trust a technology?
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Stilgoe J
(2021)
How can we know a self-driving car is safe?
in Ethics and Information Technology
Stilgoe J
(2019)
Self-driving cars will take a while to get right
in Nature Machine Intelligence
Stilgoe J
(2023)
Artificial Intelligence and the City - Urbanistic Perspectives on AI
Stilgoe J
(2022)
The politics of autonomous vehicles
in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications
Stilgoe J
(2019)
International Handbook on Responsible Innovation - A Global Resource
Stilgoe J
(2020)
Road Vehicle Automation 7
Stilgoe J
(2023)
We need a Weizenbaum test for AI
in Science
Stilgoe J
(2021)
Rejecting acceptance: learning from public dialogue on self-driving vehicles
in Science and Public Policy
Stayton E
(2020)
It's Time to Rethink Levels of Automation for Self-Driving Vehicles [Opinion]
in IEEE Technology and Society Magazine
Salvini P
(2023)
Human involvement in autonomous decision-making systems. Lessons learned from three case studies in aviation, social care and road vehicles
in Frontiers in Political Science
Polydoropoulou A
(2021)
Who Is Willing to Share Their AV? Insights about Gender Differences among Seven Countries
in Sustainability
Pfotenhauer S
(2022)
The politics of scaling.
in Social studies of science
Parkin J
(2022)
Cyclist and pedestrian trust in automated vehicles: An on-road and simulator trial
in International Journal of Sustainable Transportation
Parkhurst G
(2019)
Transport Matters
Paddeu D
(2020)
Passenger comfort and trust on first-time use of a shared autonomous shuttle vehicle
in Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies
Paddeu D
(2021)
A study of users' preferences after a brief exposure in a Shared Autonomous Vehicle (SAV)
in Transportation Research Procedia
Paddeu D
(2020)
The social perspective on policy towards local shared autonomous vehicle services (LSAVS)
in Transport Policy
Paddeu D
(2020)
Policy Implications of Autonomous Vehicles
Falco G
(2021)
Governing AI safety through independent audits
in Nature Machine Intelligence
Cohen T
(2020)
A constructive role for social science in the development of automated vehicles
in Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives
Cohen T
(2020)
Technological advances relevant to transport - understanding what drives them
in Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice
Coad A
(2020)
Editorial: the dark side of innovation
in Industry and Innovation
Clayton W
(2020)
Autonomous vehicles: who will use them, and will they share?
in Transportation Planning and Technology
Description | The Driverless Futures was one of the world's first major social research projects to anticipate the social opportunities and uncertainties of self-driving vehicles. The technology promises to transform how people move in the 21st Century, but there are big questions and uncertainties that accompany the proposed benefits. Previous studies of new technologies have often focussed on those being developed in university labs. The lessons from studies of genetically modified food and synthetic biology are relevant to artificial intelligence as it is rapidly scaled up. The ramifications of AI will not just be felt online. Self-driving vehicles represent a uniquely interesting case study of AI in-use, with clear implications for offline lifestyles and livelihoods. The collaboration in this project between Science and technology studies, transport studies and robot ethics was new. The team helped make the case for further work of this kind. The project used a combination of research methods. We interviewed in depth more than 50 of the people involved in developing and regulating the technology. We were involved in two large public exercises that aimed to understand what citizens thought and the technology. And we conducted a large survey of members of the public in the UK and US. The project team has produced dozens of papers, a book - Who's Driving Innovation?, and accompanying policy reports, media articles, podcasts and blog posts. Project findings have been presented at international academic conferences, at policy meetings and at conferences involving self-driving vehicle developers themselves. Our major papers have made contributions to the following questions: 1. How will self-driving cars depend on and be conditioned by the world (material, social) around them? 2. How can we know if a self-driving car is safe? 3. How might self-driving cars interact with (change, be changed by) the rules of the road? 4. What does public dialogue on self-driving cars tell us about the democratic governance of new technologies? 5. How can we get past seeing the public and their "acceptance" as a problem for new technologies? 6. How should experiments with self-driving vehicles in public spaces be governed? We are now writing papers that report on the survey findings, asking... 1 . What does it mean to say that self-driving vehicles are 'trustworthy'? 2. What can surveys tell us about public hopes and fears for new technologies? |
Exploitation Route | Jack Stilgoe is Co-I on a UKRI Trustworthy Autonomous Systems project called RAILS, looking at autonomous systems in the wild, in the long-term. The UKRI Trustworthy Autonomous Systems network (for which Stilgoe is also a Hub advisory board member) will be an excellent forum for continued development of project ideas and findings. The forthcoming UKRI Leadership team on responsible and trustworthy AI will also provide a ready home for the project's insights. Stilgoe advised the UK government on rules for self-driving vehicles. Via a report for the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation and evidence to select committees and the Law Commission, the hope if that Government takes up the findings and insights of the Driverless Futures project as they develop future legislation. |
Sectors | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) Government Democracy and Justice Transport |
URL | https://driverless-futures.com/blog/ |
Description | Jack Stilgoe has been an advisor to government on responsible innovation for self-driving vehicles. The report he co-authored with the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI) was published in August 2022. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/responsible-innovation-in-self-driving-vehicleshttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/responsible-innovation-in-self-driving-vehicles. The report makes use of the Driverless Futures survey findings to help the UK Government build its argument for legislation and new regulatory functions for self-driving vehicles. The report is informed by the qualitative findings of the Driverless Futures project, which were used to identify issues and questions relevant for the governance of self-driving vehicles. Jack Stilgoe appeared in multiple media outlets associated with the CDEI report. He was subsequently called as a witness to the House of Commons Transport Select Committee to discuss legislation for self-driving vehicles. In early 2023, the originally intended parliamentary legislation, original known as the transport bill, was delayed. But the Kings Speech in November 2023 included the announcement for an Automated Vehicles Bill. As of March 2024, this bill contains draft legislation on a number of the issues identified by the CDEI report, including questions of liability, acceptable safety, incident investigation and misleading marketing. Once the Bill successfully passes into law, it will be one of the first major pieces of AV-specific legislation worldwide. |
First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
Sector | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Government, Democracy and Justice |
Impact Types | Societal Policy & public services |
Description | CDEI report on Responsible Innovation in Self-Driving Vehicles |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
URL | https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/responsible-innovation-in-self-driving-vehicles |
Description | Contributions to the Law Commission review on self-driving vehicles |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
URL | https://www.lawcom.gov.uk/legal-reforms-to-allow-safe-introduction-of-automated-vehicles-announced/ |
Description | European policy report |
Geographic Reach | Europe |
Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
URL | https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/89624e2c-f98c-11ea-b44f-01aa75ed71a1/langua... |
Description | Expert advice on rules for AV ethics |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
Impact | Our advice has formed the basis of a report that will guide planned legislation for self-driving vehicles, to be introduced into Parliament in 2022. |
Description | Government report on responsible innovation in self-driving vehicles |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
URL | https://driverless-futures.com/2022/08/30/cdei-report-on-responsible-innovation-in-self-driving-vehi... |
Description | IEEE Standard published - Winfield as chair |
Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
URL | https://sagroups.ieee.org/7001/ |
Description | Multiple Citations in JRC report |
Geographic Reach | Europe |
Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
URL | https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC125412/full-ethicsreport-190821pdf |
Description | Multiple citations in a Law Commission review |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
Impact | Our project's submissions to the consultation have informed the Law Commission's thinking on the regulation of automated vehicles. Their report (https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/lawcom-prod-storage-11jsxou24uy7q/uploads/2022/01/Automated-vehicles-joint-report-cvr-24-01-22.pdf) refers to our submissions on three occasions. |
Description | Response to Law Commission consultation on AVs |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
URL | https://driverless-futures.com/2019/02/28/driverless-futures-submission-to-the-law-commission/ |
Description | Written and oral evidence to the UK Commons Transport Select Committee |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
URL | https://driverless-futures.com/2022/12/21/evidence-to-the-transport-select-committee/ |
Description | AI UK: Creating an International Ecosystem for Responsible AI Research and Innovation |
Amount | £26,768,601 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/Y009800/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 04/2023 |
End | 03/2028 |
Description | Responsible AI for Long-term Trustworthy Autonomous Systems (RAILS): Integrating Responsible AI and Socio-legal Governance |
Amount | £710,088 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/W011344/1 |
Organisation | United Kingdom Research and Innovation |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2022 |
End | 06/2024 |
Description | Network on Transport Security and Governance |
Organisation | University of Oxford |
Department | Transport Studies Unit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I presented on the theme "Trust as an Indicator of Perceived Risk in Using an Automated Vehicle" to the scoping workshop initiated by the Transport Studies Unit at the University of Oxford.. |
Collaborator Contribution | A scoping workshop was held on 5 March 2020. Each partner made a contribution to the workshop and engaged in discussions about the future network. |
Impact | The initial outcome is to develop the network around a publication. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Responsible AI UK |
Organisation | University of Southampton |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Jack Stilgoe was invited to be a co-investigator for a proposal to run the UKRI Responsible AI Programme. This bid, led by Gopal Ramchurn, was successful. This is a 5-year, £31 million programme. |
Collaborator Contribution | Support |
Impact | Responsible AI programme |
Start Year | 2023 |
Description | Trustworthy autonomous systems |
Organisation | University of Liverpool |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Jack Stilgoe was a co-investigator on proposals for the EPSRC TAS hub and nodes. None of these won. Stilgoe was invited to join the advisory board for the TAS hub. |
Collaborator Contribution | Hub proposal was led by Michael Fisher at Liverpool |
Impact | None yet |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | WISE-ACT (Wider impacts of Autonomous and Connected Transport) European Cost Action 16222 |
Organisation | University of Surrey |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Graham Parkhurst was the leader of Working Group 3 which sought to critically evaluate business opportunities for both passenger and freight transport and the extent to whcih those opportunities would have major implication for public policy, particularly transport policy, and whether they would be likely to align with public policy objectives such as net zero and social inclusion. Amongst the range of possible business models would be options that can be profitable for the private sector as commercial services, and those that would require public financial support, and therefore would be expected to deliver public policy objectives. As well as examining these extremes, the work undertaken in the Working Group 3 sought to identify the 'win-win' zone where commercial and sustainable development benefits align. |
Collaborator Contribution | The Cost Action involves at least two representatives from each EC member state and associated states. |
Impact | Parkhurst, G., Cabanelas, P., Paddeu, D., Raslavicius, L., Thomopoulos, N., (2021) Autonomous and Connected Transport as Part of an Inclusive Transport System. Report of WISE-ACT Working Group 3: Business Challenges. Plus three journal articles (2 published, 1 pending) |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | Article on drum machines, automation and AI |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Jack Stilgoe was commissioned for a long read in the online magazine Aeon. Focussing on the history of drum machines, the essay investigated automation in music and what lessons could be learned for artificial intelligence in society. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://aeon.co/essays/what-drum-machines-can-teach-us-about-artificial-intelligence |
Description | BBC news article |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Alan Winfield was interviewed for a BBC news article about robots, Elon Musk and driverless cars. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-60154782 |
Description | Book review in the Guardian |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | A book review published in the Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jul/16/why-we-drive-by-matthew-crawford-review-a-high-speed-reverse-into-nostalgia?CMP=share_btn_tw |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://driverless-futures.com/2020/07/16/review-of-why-we-drive-by-matthew-crawford/ |
Description | Comment article in the Irish Times |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | A comment article in the Irish Times has a lengthy and thoughtful examination of the Driverless Futures paper on the Attachments of 'Autonomous' Vehicles. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://driverless-futures.com/2022/06/16/comment-piece-in-the-irish-times/ |
Description | Contributions to the Law Commission review on self-driving vehicles |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | The Law Commission's final report on self-driving vehicles referred to the two sets of written evidence submitted by Driverless Futures. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://driverless-futures.com/2022/01/27/the-law-commission-and-the-daily-telegraph/ |
Description | Daily Telegraph article |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Article for the Daily Telegraph newspaper in the UK "Moral maze: can driverless cars ever make human choices?: In matters of life and death on the road, Harry de Quetteville asks if machines could be made to think as we do", 27 Jan 2022. Jack Stilgoe spoke to the journalist to help frame and inform the story. Substantial quoting from the interview. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/features/can-driverless-cars-ever-truly-make-human-choices/ |
Description | Debating driverless futures |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | As part of social science week, the project held a day of public dialogue at the science museum's Driverless exhibition. We made a film of the day https://driverless-futures.com/2019/12/11/doing-dialogue-at-the-science-museum/ |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://driverless-futures.com/2019/12/11/doing-dialogue-at-the-science-museum/ |
Description | Driverless Futures blog |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | The project blog (https://driverless-futures.com/blog/) has received more than 4,000 unique visitors |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019,2020 |
URL | https://driverless-futures.com/blog/ |
Description | Driverless Futures launch with transport minister |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Our project launch event had more than 100 people, at Nesta in London, and was introduced by Jess Norman MP, minister for transport |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://driverless-futures.com/2019/04/12/launch-mode/ |
Description | European Joint Research Centre |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | A report from the JRC on "Alternative Imaginaries: Citizen Mobility Futures" referred extensively to our work (https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC123895/imaginariescavs%5Bonline%5D.pdf). Subsequently, Jack Stilgoe was invited to speak to a JRC exploratory workshop on "explainable, robust and fair AI in automated and autonomous vehicles". |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | FT Comment piece |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | John Thornhill, the FT's tech editor, has a comment piece on trust in AI, discussing the recent NTSB investigation of the latest Tesla Autopilot crash. He starts by quoting NTSB chair Robert Summwalt: "The lessons from this investigation are as much about people as they are about the limitations of emerging technologies," He then mentions my argument that "advances in machine learning must be accompanied by social learning." Even though my new book is pretty short, he makes the argument far more concise than I could manage: what is essential, he suggests, is to create a collective societal capacity to understand emerging technologies and decide on the appropriate regulatory framework. We cannot leave all this to powerful private corporations. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://www.ft.com/content/0e086832-5c5c-11ea-8033-fa40a0d65a98 |
Description | Fully Charged Podcast |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | In this episode Helen Czerski talks to Jack Stilgoe, Associate professor in Science and Technology Studies at University College London, about automotive automation. Yes, it's an exciting technology that will hopefully benefit everyone, but before we get to that point, it has many, many barriers to overcome. Helen talks to Jack about the politics behind it, the ethical nature of if something goes wrong and how this affects us, as a society. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://fullycharged.show/podcasts/podcast-92-helen-czerski-talks-autonomous-cars-with-jack-stilgoe/ |
Description | Government report on responsible innovation for self-driving vehicles |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Jack Stilgoe was an external expert author (alongside Prof John McDermid from York) of a report with the UK Government Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation on responsible innovation for self-driving vehicles. This report was timed to inform forthcoming Government legislation on safety and testing. JS did a day of media appearances to coincide with the launch of the report. The report and associated media generated substantial debate among stakeholders. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://driverless-futures.com/2022/08/30/cdei-report-on-responsible-innovation-in-self-driving-vehi... |
Description | Jack Stilgoe multiple media interviews |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/26/technology/sri-lanka-social-media.html https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/21/middleeast/technology-reduce-traffic-accidents-intl/index.html https://www.ft.com/content/0e086832-5c5c-11ea-8033-fa40a0d65a98 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0009sxr https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000d84g |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019,2020 |
Description | Keynote presentation at AVS |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | Jack Stilgoe was invited to give a keynote talk at the Automated Vehicles Symposium, one of the the world's largest AV conferences, with an audience of thousands. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://driverless-futures.com/2019/07/24/doing-dialogue-a-talk-at-avs-2019/ |
Description | Media launch of survey reports |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | To coincide with the release of the Driverless Futures survey reports, Jack Stilgoe wrote an Op Ed for MIT Technology Review, a leading tech publication, asking whether self-driving vehicles should be labelled. A press release from UCL was picked up by the I newspaper and some other channels. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://driverless-futures.com/2022/06/16/should-self-driving-vehicles-be-labelled/ |
Description | Opinion piece in the Conversation |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | An opinion piece by Jack Stilgoe in the Conversation argues that current experiments in San Francisco need to be democratised. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://driverless-futures.com/2023/03/03/what-weve-learned-from-experiments-in-san-francisco-and-ph... |
Description | Policy engagement with DfT |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Tom Cohen and Jack Stilgoe have been invited to take part in a number of policy discussions and workshops with the Department for Transport 20/11/19 DfT Science Advisory committee 9/11/2019 Policy roundtable on public engagement 1/11/2019 CCAV away day 31/7/19 RAC Foundation/DfT policy picnic 24/6/19 CSAP DfT workshop, Cambridge |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019,2020 |
Description | Presentation to Bristol Technology Showcase "Will People Share Automated Vehicles?" |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | The Bristol Technology Showcase (BTS), held on 8 November 2019, focused on emerging technologies and those themes encompassed in the 4th industrial revolution with a view to examining how they will affect businesses and wider society as a whole. The event was part of an umbrella brand of technology events that were co-located over the same week under the banner of the Bristol Technology Festival. The presentation "Will People Share Automated Vehicles?" contributed to a session titled "The Future of Connected Automated Mobility". |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://bristoltechnologyshowcase.com/ |
Description | Presentation to ESRC Festival of Social Science "Some Findings from Social Science Investigations into the Implications of Automated Road Transport" |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | A presentation to a day-long engagement event organised at the University of Surrey, Guildford within the ESRC Festival of Social Science, 06 November 2019. The focus of the day was on new mobility technologies. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Presentation to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Connected Automated Mobility |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Graham Parkhurst made an online presentation on the theme 'CTS Research on the Public Acceptability of CAM' (where CTS = Centre for Transport & Society, University of the West of England, Bristol and CAM = Connected Automated Mobility). The presentation drew upon empirical research findings from an Innovate UK project (CAPRI) and reflected/contributed to debates within the project Driverless Futures? |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmallparty/220209/connected-and-automated-mobility.htm |
Description | Public engagement on AVs in Manchester |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | As part of a global citizens' debate on driverless mobility coordinated by Missions Publiques, we worked with Involve, the public participation think tank, and Transport for Greater Manchester to run a day of public dialogue. The report was published by Involve. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://www.involve.org.uk/sites/default/files/uploads/FINAL%20Citizens%27%20Conversation%20on%20Dri... |
Description | Science museum Driverless exhibition |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Jack Stilgoe was an advisor to the Science Museum's Driverless exhibition, which began in 2019. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/see-and-do/driverless-who-is-in-control |
Description | Second FT Comment piece |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Tim Harford mentions Who's Driving Innovation in an FT Comment piece |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://timharford.com/2021/02/miracle-tech-that-is-anything-but-a-taxonomy-of-bionic-duckweed/ |
Description | Self-Driving Cars and the Politics of Innovation - Interview with ICTC |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | On April 8th 2020, ICTC (the Canadian Information and Communications Technology Council) spoke with Dr. Jack Stilgoe, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Science & Technology Studies at University College London, where he researches and teaches the governance of emerging technologies. Dr. Stilgoe is the Principal Investigator of the Driverless Futures? Project, a three-year social science project looking at the governance of self-driving cars. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://driverless-futures.com/2020/05/21/self-driving-cars-and-the-politics-of-innovation-interview... |
Description | Talk at Robosoft: Software Engineering for Robotics, RAEng, London, November 2019 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Alan Winfield gave an invited talk entitled 'Ethical Standards in robotics and AI: Responsible Robotics' at the 2 day meeting RoboSoft: Software Engineering for Robotics, organised by the University of York and hosted at the Royal Academy of Engineering. The talk presented RoboTIPS and the ethical black box; Autonomous Vehicles were also used as an illustrative example. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.cs.york.ac.uk/robostar/robosoft/ |
Description | The Received Wisdom podcast |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | New podcast on science and technology policy, hosted by Jack Stilgoe and Shobita Parthasarathy |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019,2020 |
URL | https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-received-wisdom/id1476334065 |
Description | The attachments of autonomous vehicles |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Dec 2020, A conference that was due to be in Los Angeles, but took place on Zoom. This was part of a series of meetings, funded by the US National Science Foundation, on Mathematical Challenges and Opportunities for Autonomous Vehicles. My talk was on the ways in which so-called 'autonomous' vehicles are inextricably attached to various social and technical infrastructures. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://driverless-futures.com/2020/12/15/the-attachments-of-autonomous-vehicles/ |
Description | The car. The future. Me. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | A new exhibition at the British Motor Museum looks at the future of the car. I'm one of the talking heads in Richard Jones's video that accompanies the exhibition. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://driverless-futures.com/2020/07/21/the-car-the-future-me/ |
Description | The myth of the autonomous vehicle |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | I was asked to do the keynote talk at the Shift Mobility 2020 conference in Berlin on 3rd September. Via Zoom, natch. I spoke about the seductive myth of autonomous vehicles and how it could lead to bad policy decisions. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://driverless-futures.com/2020/09/04/the-myth-of-the-autonomous-vehicle/ |
Description | Work with Demos Helsinki |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Jack Stilgoe was invited to join an expert group on experimentation and technology governance by Demos Helsinki, a Finnish public policy think tank. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Written and oral evidence to the UK Commons Transport Select Committee |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | The Driverless Futures team gave written evidence to the Transport Select Committee's inquiry on self-driving vehicles. Jack Stilgoe was asked to appear as a witness. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://driverless-futures.com/2022/12/21/evidence-to-the-transport-select-committee/ |