B2 – Upper Intermediate
The future is now. That is, if we go by the timeline set by the iconic sci-fi movie “Back to the Future.” So where are all the flying cars? According to Professor Missy Cummings in this BBC feature, there are only a few hurdles to the development of personal air vehicles. And technology is not one of them.
Watch the video then read the article and be ready to express your thoughts about the topic.
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20131031-a-flying-car-for-everyone
Discussion Questions:
1. Would owning a personal air vehicle simplify or complicate our lives?
2. What are the hurdles that prevent the full realization of the flying car?
3. If personal air vehicles will essentially be robots, what can be done to ensure that they will be hacker-proof?
8 replies on “A Personal Air Vehicle”
Would owning a personal air vehicle simplify or complicate our lives?
Owning a personal air vehicle would complicate our lives because, in order to own one, you need to get a pilot’s license and stay up-to-date on the latest airspace regulations. Instead of owning an air vehicle, AI-powered air taxis would really change the way people move.
What are the hurdles that prevent the full realization of the flying car?
In my opinion, the hurdles that prevent the full realization of the flying car or drone are the need for a totally different infrastructure for the management of hundreds of air vehicles in the same airspace and the existence of a good enough AI that could transport people from point A to point B with total safety.
If personal air vehicles will essentially be robots, what can be done to ensure that they will be hacker-proof?
Well, first of all, everything that is connected to the internet can be hacked remotely. There are a few things that you can do to prevent hacking. The first of them is the punishment of the offenders; we need to change our laws in order to deter people from doing it.
The second one is maintaining our vehicles up-to-date with security updates, and the last one is supervision by humans to ensure that everything is working as expected.
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1. Would owning a personal air vehicle simplify or complicate our lives?
Owning a personal air vehicle could both simplify and complicate our lives, depending on various factors. On one hand, personal air vehicles could significantly reduce travel time, especially in congested urban areas. It could also be particularly beneficial for commuting, emergency services, and even leisure travel. On the other hand, they also bring a range of challenges that would need to be addressed to ensure they are safe, affordable, and environmentally sustainable.
2. What are the hurdles that prevent the full realization of the flying car?
According to the article there aren’t any technological hurdles to this idea. The biggest hurdles we have are psychological and cultural, in terms of giving up the car.
3. If personal air vehicles will essentially be robots, what can be done to ensure that they will be hacker-proof?
Ensuring that personal air vehicles are hacker-proof is crucial for their safe and reliable operation. Some strategies that can be implemented: Cybersecurity Measures; Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS); Redundancy and Fail-Safe Mechanisms
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1. Would owning a personal air vehicle simplify or complicate our lives?
I think it would depend a lot on the situation of the society, if they have created rules and laws that regularize and simplify the circulation with air cars.
What are the hurdles that prevent the full realization of the flying car?
From what is said in the documentary it seems that the main hurdles is the psychological barrier to give control to technology.
3. If personal air vehicles will essentially be robots, what can be done to ensure that they will be hacker-proof?
It seems that robots will be able to withstand cyber-attacks and not be so easy to hack.
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1. Would owning a personal air vehicle simplify or complicate our lives?
I think it would complicate everything. We would need new regulations, trainings, laws, infraestructure, etc etc. It would mean opening a new world of transportation.
2. What are the hurdles that prevent the full realization of the flying car?
Safety issues mainly, and governments getting on board with it.
3. If personal air vehicles will essentially be robots, what can be done to ensure that they will be hacker-proof?
Make them more manual and human handled, other than that, nothing. Hacking works with AI, it improves almost as much as security does.
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