FBI terrorism alert for autonomous cars

The advent of autonomous or 'driverless' cars holds great appeal for many motorists. The technology has the potential to take away the monotony of the daily commute, allow passengers to get work done or have a nap, or even rendezvous with owners out the front of a restaurant or night club to whisk them safely home.

However a restricted document from the US-based Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) revealed that the intelligence organisation harbours significant fears about the technology being used for nefarious purposes, including criminal and terrorist groups.

According to the restricted report, which was obtained by The Guardian, the FBI says autonomous car technology "will have a high impact on transforming what both law enforcement and its adversaries can operationally do with a car".

Clearly the FBI is concerned that autonomous cars may be more frequently used as getaway cars in armed robberies, which would allow occupants free reign to return fire on police, for example.

Authored by the FBI's Strategic Issue Group, the report acknowledges that autonomous cars will improve road users' safety but there are concerns that the weaponisation of cars will also be accelerated.

The breadth of criminal activity possible with autonomous cars is significant, and the FBI notes the step change in private transport will result in a "game changing" revolution that could see the vehicles used as a "lethal weapon".

For example a car loaded with explosives could be programmed to drive at high speed into a specific location.

Car manufacturers and technology companies alike are promoting the autonomous car as a way to reduce traffic congestion and fuel consumption, while improving the safety of all road users.

Driverless vehicles will take most of the emotional and physical constraints such as road rage and fatigue out of the driving equation, and the FBI concedes that because of this they will reduce crashes.

"The risk that distraction or poor judgement leading to collision that stems from manual operation would be substantially reduced," states the report.
Several countries have already made provisions to allow for the trials of autonomous cars on public roads among regular traffic, such as the UK and according to the FBI the US congress will look to legalise self-driving vehicles in five to seven years.

European law currently requires all autonomous cars to be operated with a driver present but as the technology improves, the EU laws could change and major car markets will be compelled to follow suit.

There are currently dozens of autonomous car projects in the development and testing phase, including systems from Volvo, Google, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Ford. Several consortia such as Project AdaptiVe, are also appearing, which are spreading the multi-million dollar investment costs across several companies, including aforementioned car-makers, to accelerate research.