I was chatting with my brother about my new X and he made a comment that worried me. What if a terrorist organization decides to use a self-driving car as a car-bomb?
Yes, autopilot cannot be used to deliver a bomb today, but in the near future that will be possible. I think it may be possible even today with some clever manipulation of the sensors (e.g. a dummy in the driver's seat, getting it started with the window open and then letting it go).
Is this a real risk? Anything that can be done about it?
I can think of a couple things:
1) Enhancing internal sensors to ensure there's always a human in the car. Of course, this means no "long distance summon" so it may be undesirable. And it may be bypassed by even creepier methods.
2) Enhancing the Model X air filtration system to detect explosives. Explosive detectors are becoming a commodity, and you may be able to put one in the air circulation system so autopilot refuses to work if there's an identifiable explosive inside the car. Of course, this would only be useful until the terrorists find out how to bypass the detection (e.g. block the air flow) but as long as you make it hard enough it may serve its purpose.
I think this is an unlikely scenario in the short term, but an almost assured one in the long term. And the day it happens, we may lose autonomous driving for many years while lawmakers panic and try to find a way around it, so anything we can do to prevent this from happening would be desirable.
Yes, autopilot cannot be used to deliver a bomb today, but in the near future that will be possible. I think it may be possible even today with some clever manipulation of the sensors (e.g. a dummy in the driver's seat, getting it started with the window open and then letting it go).
Is this a real risk? Anything that can be done about it?
I can think of a couple things:
1) Enhancing internal sensors to ensure there's always a human in the car. Of course, this means no "long distance summon" so it may be undesirable. And it may be bypassed by even creepier methods.
2) Enhancing the Model X air filtration system to detect explosives. Explosive detectors are becoming a commodity, and you may be able to put one in the air circulation system so autopilot refuses to work if there's an identifiable explosive inside the car. Of course, this would only be useful until the terrorists find out how to bypass the detection (e.g. block the air flow) but as long as you make it hard enough it may serve its purpose.
I think this is an unlikely scenario in the short term, but an almost assured one in the long term. And the day it happens, we may lose autonomous driving for many years while lawmakers panic and try to find a way around it, so anything we can do to prevent this from happening would be desirable.