Autonomous vehicle technology continues to advance rapidly, but there’s still a lot of confusion about how immediate its impact will be, how safe the technology is, and how much it will disrupt life as we know it. These five recent titles provide a variety of perspectives to help readers understand the technology, ethics, and ramifications of the driverless car revolution.
The Latest Innovations: Learn more about Cadillac’s cutting-edge technologies
Product Details: 328 pages (paperback)
Publication Date: Sept. 23, 2016
Publisher: The MIT Press
In this book, Hod Lipson and Melba Kurman lay out the benefits and drawbacks of autonomous vehicles, explore the history of how driverless transportation came about, and explain the technology behind it. Although the authors take a balanced approach to the subject, their overall outlook on driverless cars is a positive one.
The Driver in the Driverless Car: How Our Technology Choices Will Shape the Future by Vivek Wadhwa with Alex Salkever
Product Details: 240 pages (hardcover)
Publication Date: April 3, 2017
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler
Scholar Vivek Wadhwa tackles the pros and cons of driverless cars head-on, urging readers to ask these three questions: “Does the technology have the potential to benefit everyone equally?” “What are the risks and rewards?” and “Does the technology foster autonomy or dependency?”
Product Details: 368 pages (hardcover)
Publication Date: Aug. 28, 2018
Publisher: Ecco
Autonomy author Lawrence D. Burns has headed up research and development for General Motors and currently advises Google’s Self-Driving Car team — excellent qualifications for writing this fascinating ground-level history of how driverless cars were developed.
No One at the Wheel: Driverless Cars and the Road of the Future by Samuel I. Schwartz
Product Details: 272 pages (hardcover)
Publication Date: Nov. 20, 2018
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Transportation expert Samuel I. Schwartz believes the disruptive impact of driverless cars is imminent, His book offers a detailed look at changes that are already on the way, urging readers to carefully think through the ramifications of autonomous vehicles so they can be ready.
Product Details: 248 pages (hardcover)
Publication Date: May 7, 2019
Publisher: Apollo
This book by Jalopnik writer Jason Torchinsky helps readers think through all the ways that autonomous vehicles will change our culture, economy, and everyday routines — and how they’ll fit into the lives of people who love traditional cars.
Safe and Connected: A closer look at OnStar vehicle services
A longtime editor/writer and recently transplanted Hoosier, Caleb Cook lives in Xenia, Ohio. His favorite activities are reading and listening to music, although he occasionally emerges from the heap of books and vinyl records in his basement to stand blinking in the sunlight. Once fully acclimated to the outside world again, he can be observed hanging out with his wife, attempting a new recipe in the kitchen, attending movies, walking the dog, or wandering into a local brewery to inquire about what’s on tap. See more articles by Caleb.
