If you were any kind of fan of science fiction fan growing up, then you probably imagined that by now we would be traveling by flying car.
While I don’t think flying cars are too close to being a common means of transportation any time soon, I do think that there will come a time when this will be a viable and safe way to travel. How will this disrupt what we currently do? Often times the disruption isn’t fully thought about until the new technology is gaining ground.
How will we rethink roads? Will we be allowed to drive them, or will they be controlled by AI, which is fully aware of every other vehicle around them (in a way that we can’t accomplish with our brains and our limited attention?)
Would buildings have arrival and departures from their roofs? Will cars link up if they are heading in the same direction? Where will they be allowed to take off and land? What does rush hour look like?
We haven’t been very good at foreseeing how a new technology will change the way we do things, and I think flying cars will be one of those technologies that disrupts our lives significantly… and then we’ll have conversations about their value after they are inevitable.
We don’t prepare for technology to transform our lives, we just react to technology after we’ve integrated it into our lives.
Wow – some intriguing questions and ideas. I used to work in the aviation world and I certainly hope they don’t allow drivers to actually fly – AI is really the only option (IMHO). People have enough trouble in 2 dimensions. There’s a part of me that hopes we’ll get to the point where the average person has an aircraft, but energy may be the limiting factor. What would be the power source? Hopefully by the time they develop the flying technology there will be a renewable energy source available that is sufficiently energy dense to compete with fossil fuels.
I agree all the way around Bill. AI piloting is key and so is affordable, renewable,(and lighter), energy sources. The interesting thing is that we are already at the point where this is viable with the right power source… so I think this is a technology that will explode in adoption once the power issue is figured out.
Other areas that are likely to prevent mass adoption are inclement weather, noise, insufficient landing and parking spaces, and, surprisingly, birds. Wind, windshear, rain, snow, and low visibility in particular will be very challenging. Personally, I think a version of a hyperloop stands a better chance at mass transport one day. I had a student build a very simple and ingenious demonstration of a hyperloop way back in the 90’s. Ever since I’ve been wondering why we don’t already have some version of it.