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Talking about automated vehicles: What do levels of automation do?

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  • Hopkins, Debbie
  • Schwanen, Tim

Abstract

Automated vehicles have become a popular topic of conversation. Initially, these conversations were limited to technology developers, innovators and engineers, as they worked to progressed the various technologies and systems that are required to create automated vehicles. Then, over time, these conversations extended to other communities; lawyers, insurers, planners, policymakers, social scientists, and various publics all began hearing, and talking about automated vehicles – also known as ‘driverless’, ‘self-driving’, and ‘autonomous’ vehicles. Levels of automation emerged as a way to depict gradations or categories of autonomy, with tasks divided between those for the machine and those for humans. In this paper, we critically reflect upon the dominance of levels of automation – up to seven sequential ‘steps’ - proposed by a number of industry organisations. Focusing on the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Standard J3016, we signal the intended and unintended performative effects of these levels. We argue that current discourses on automated vehicles have been underpinned by a techno-centric, expert-dominated logic, and point to the benefits of more dispersed, geographically contingent, and socio-technical perspectives in re-framing the dominant discourse and allowing for more nuanced spatial and temporal understandings on future systems of (automated) mobility.

Suggested Citation

  • Hopkins, Debbie & Schwanen, Tim, 2021. "Talking about automated vehicles: What do levels of automation do?," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:teinso:v:64:y:2021:i:c:s0160791x20312914
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2020.101488
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Tim Schwanen, 2016. "Rethinking resilience as capacity to endure," City, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(1), pages 152-160, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Mamak, Kamil & Glanc, Jadwiga, 2022. "Problems with the prospective connected autonomous vehicles regulation: Finding a fair balance versus the instinct for self-preservation," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    2. Amalia Polydoropoulou & Ioannis Tsouros & Nikolas Thomopoulos & Cristina Pronello & Arnór Elvarsson & Haraldur Sigþórsson & Nima Dadashzadeh & Kristina Stojmenova & Jaka Sodnik & Stelios Neophytou & D, 2021. "Who Is Willing to Share Their AV? Insights about Gender Differences among Seven Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-19, April.
    3. Hamburger, Yair Amichai & Sela, Yaron & Kaufman, Sharon & Wellingstein, Tamar & Stein, Noy & Sivan, Joel, 2022. "Personality and the autonomous vehicle: Overcoming psychological barriers to the driverless car," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    4. Agrawal, Shubham & Schuster, Amy M. & Britt, Noah & Mack, Elizabeth A. & Tidwell, Michael L. & Cotten, Shelia R., 2023. "Building on the past to help prepare the workforce for the future with automated vehicles: A systematic review of automated passenger vehicle deployment timelines," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    5. Dasom Lee & David J. Hess, 2022. "Public concerns and connected and automated vehicles: safety, privacy, and data security," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-13, December.
    6. Hopkins, Debbie & Schwanen, Tim, 2023. "Sociotechnical expectations of vehicle automation in the UK trucking sector," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    7. Li, Dun & Huang, Youlin & Qian, Lixian, 2022. "Potential adoption of robotaxi service: The roles of perceived benefits to multiple stakeholders and environmental awareness," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 120-135.
    8. Jack Stilgoe & Miloš Mladenović, 2022. "The politics of autonomous vehicles," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-6, December.

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