Self-driving cars and automated writing are two technological advancements that have gained significant attention over the years. There is still quite a lot of concern around both technologies, but in many ways – when you actually look into it – this is a strange position. But I’ll come to that.

Self-driving technology uses sensors, cameras and artificial intelligence to navigate roads without human input – or at least it can where it’s legal, which it isn’t in the UK yet. The idea is to make driving safer and more efficient by reducing the number of accidents caused by human error – which is most of them.

Reducing congestion and commuting time

Self-driving cars could also reduce traffic congestion and decrease the amount of time people spend commuting via intelligent monitoring of road conditions and traffic patterns.
Similarly, automated writing tools like ChatGPT have been getting a lot of attention recently, and some people are concerned that it could replace human writers by using artificial intelligence to generate human-like content, without human input.

These tools could be used to create anything from blog posts to news articles, saving writers time and effort while ensuring high-quality content. But they don’t (yet) convey personality perfectly.

Now, as a driver and a writer, I understand both concerns around trusting the driving to a computer and, similarly, generating content without the need for imagination. But look at it this way: most people are perfectly happy to fly across the Atlantic in a plane at 30,000 feet with an autopilot handling most of the flight, so why not let a car do the same – especially as it doesn’t involve the risk of plummeting 30,000 feet to the ocean below?

I think it comes down to familiarity. We’ve ‘got used to the idea’ of an autopilot in a plane, but the concept of that technology in a car (or behind a keyboard) is more of an unknown. So does that mean that in time we will be perfectly comfortable with both technologies?

Perhaps. But while I have made use of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) such as lane keeping, adaptive cruise control and any other gadgets manufacturers throw at their cars for many years, I’ve been more reticent on AI writing. Until recently.

Both require an initial input and constant monitoring

I think the realisation that both require an initial input and constant monitoring and adjustments to make them ‘perfect’ brings them into the category of assistance technologies, rather than something you relinquish control to, which sits much more comfortably with me.

But why am I talking about AI in a non-motoring context? Well, because my column last month was 80% written by AI. I supplied a prompt and then fettled and tweaked the result to make it more ‘me’. I could have used it as it was generated, but it wouldn’t have been my voice.

In the same way, self-driving technology, to my mind at least, will always need that little tweak or input and I am therefore thankful my driving (and writing) days are not yet over!