On March 18, 2018, Elaine Herzberg was killed by an autonomous car being tested by Uber in Tempe, Arizona. A subsequent preliminary investigation by US authorities found that the car correctly recognised Herzberg as a pedestrian pushing a bike across the road six seconds before killing her.
According to the World Health Organisation, there were 1.25 million road traffic deaths globally in 2013, the most recent year for which full data is available. But the case of Herzberg has rightly generated more interest than almost any other simply because, to put it bluntly, it is the future of how humans will be killed by machines.
Until December 2017, Uber aggressively contended that it was a technology platform and not a transportation firm. The argument was farcical then and is downright outrageous today. In the not-too-distant future, what was once an app on your phone will now be killing people in the streets.
The intersection of technology and transport is, more than ever before, shaping how we move around the world. If our present day app masters have their way, autonomous driving technology developed by Uber, Google, Apple and others will be indispensable in our cities.
This week on WIRED we’re holding that technological change to account. From the Chinese-run future of London's black cabs to the tubular future of sails, we’ll explore how innovation is changing not just the systems that move us but also how we live our lives in increasingly urbanised, automated environments. And, just for good measure, we’re also going in-depth on how Instagram has changed hotel design and what Elon Musk could learn from the experimental floating trains of the 1970s.
While some in Silicon Valley envision a future of fantastical flying taxis and high-speed hyperloops, our series of special reports reveals something far more prosaic but also far more important. These are the stories about how innovation in transportation and mobility are actually going to change your life, for better or worse.
You can get involved in the discussion on Twitter #WIREDonTransport and on our Facebook page.
This week’s WIRED UK podcast will also cover all things transport, mobility and the future. Want to have your say? Email podcast[at]wired.co.uk. We’d love to hear from you.
And keep checking our WIRED on Transport hub page where we’ll be adding new reports and stories throughout the week.
So far this week...
> A new era of supersonic flight is almost here. But nobody can agree on the right speed
> Cheap oil killed sailing ships. Now they’re back and totally tubular
> How I, a 26-year-old writer with a crippling existential fear of space, trained to be an astronaut
> In China, Alibaba’s data-hungry AI is controlling (and watching) cities
> Lilium's futuristic electric plane is about to get a big design overhaul
> The psychological tricks TfL uses to make London's tube feel faster
> Your commute sucks. Here's how it will get way better in the future
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
