Photo: Renault
John and his friends are tired. They have been cruising around the Red Light District for the better part of the night, riding their Cricket from establishment to establishment and tasting the local nightlife, barely missing any of the attractions.
Their Cricket is a three seater, with a double bed at the rear. John is now relaxing in the front seats, while his two friends are finishing their business in the back. The car was ordered to drive itself back to the men’s hotel, so that they can get some shuteye.
As the streetlights fade into the morning, John contemplates the Dutch and this great idea of theirs: having a fleet of self-driving cars take tourists from brothel to brothel, sampling the decadent nature of Amsterdam.
If only self-driving cars could speak, John hums to himself before dozing off.
It is the year 2041. In John’s world, autonomous cars have been around for about a decade and already transformed cities and people.
In the year 2018, there are a number of companies working on autonomous cars (AVs) to make John's future a reality. Granted, the technology is now insufficiently understood by the public, poorly explained by the media and unclearly defined by those developing it.
Predictions are that in about ten year’s time humanity will have more than one city where self-driving cars will operate legally. A state of affairs that has made some wonder what type of human activity will AVs be involved in, other than acting as taxis and delivery tools.
Two British researchers, Scott Cohen from the University of Surrey and Debbie Hopkins from the University of Oxford, published in the Annals of Tourism Research a paper that offers some insight into the matter. The paper deals with the impact self-driving cars will have on the tourism industry. And that includes sexual tourism.
As per their brief prediction in the paper, “hotels-by-the-hour are likely to be replaced by AVs, and this will have implications for urban tourism, as sex plays a central role in many tourism experiences.”
To be honest, that’s a possibility that has not crossed our minds until now. And it should have, as people have been doing it in cars probably since the Ford Model T. What's to stop self-driving cars from becoming the next mile high club, a dare for those looking for new, consensual and free-of-charge sexual experiences?
Probably nothing. But the prediction made by the two researchers opens the door for a grimmer future, one that instead of being about two lovers or friends discovering each other in a GM Cruise, for instance, shows prostitution and, why not, drug dealing rings taking advantage of the rise of the new technology.
Working in favor of such a use for an autonomous car are several major factors. First of all, accessibility. These cars are self-driving, meaning no one is there to check who gets onboard. Also, no driver’s license should be required. That opens the door for all kinds of people to use them, regardless of age, social status, disability, rap sheet, and intent.
Secondly, affordability. The vehicles will likely be rented by the minute, instead of by the hour, as some cheap hotel rooms are. And despite the fact that they will probably have to be rented for a mandatory number of minutes, AVs will still be cheaper to use for a quick fix or quick hook-up.
There are also a couple of things working against such an idea as well. First, there’s the geofencing capability of fleet operators. City zones known for criminal activity could be easily locked out of the car’s navigation system.
Then there’s the need to use a credit card to rent a self-driving car, which pretty much closes the door on any hope one could get away with shady activities.
But, for people used to have it rough in dangerous neighborhoods, geofencing and credit cars should not be a problem.
Most importantly, we can imagine a future not unlike that of John’s, where startups are in the business of renting AVs for carnal pleasures, or for tours of the most decadent areas in the city, with samples of the local life included.
The two British researchers' paper is, as they say, just a starting point for a broader debate on how driverless cars will reshape our future. Feel free to share your thoughts on the matter in the comment section below.
As the streetlights fade into the morning, John contemplates the Dutch and this great idea of theirs: having a fleet of self-driving cars take tourists from brothel to brothel, sampling the decadent nature of Amsterdam.
If only self-driving cars could speak, John hums to himself before dozing off.
It is the year 2041. In John’s world, autonomous cars have been around for about a decade and already transformed cities and people.
In the year 2018, there are a number of companies working on autonomous cars (AVs) to make John's future a reality. Granted, the technology is now insufficiently understood by the public, poorly explained by the media and unclearly defined by those developing it.
Predictions are that in about ten year’s time humanity will have more than one city where self-driving cars will operate legally. A state of affairs that has made some wonder what type of human activity will AVs be involved in, other than acting as taxis and delivery tools.
Two British researchers, Scott Cohen from the University of Surrey and Debbie Hopkins from the University of Oxford, published in the Annals of Tourism Research a paper that offers some insight into the matter. The paper deals with the impact self-driving cars will have on the tourism industry. And that includes sexual tourism.
As per their brief prediction in the paper, “hotels-by-the-hour are likely to be replaced by AVs, and this will have implications for urban tourism, as sex plays a central role in many tourism experiences.”
To be honest, that’s a possibility that has not crossed our minds until now. And it should have, as people have been doing it in cars probably since the Ford Model T. What's to stop self-driving cars from becoming the next mile high club, a dare for those looking for new, consensual and free-of-charge sexual experiences?
Probably nothing. But the prediction made by the two researchers opens the door for a grimmer future, one that instead of being about two lovers or friends discovering each other in a GM Cruise, for instance, shows prostitution and, why not, drug dealing rings taking advantage of the rise of the new technology.
Working in favor of such a use for an autonomous car are several major factors. First of all, accessibility. These cars are self-driving, meaning no one is there to check who gets onboard. Also, no driver’s license should be required. That opens the door for all kinds of people to use them, regardless of age, social status, disability, rap sheet, and intent.
Secondly, affordability. The vehicles will likely be rented by the minute, instead of by the hour, as some cheap hotel rooms are. And despite the fact that they will probably have to be rented for a mandatory number of minutes, AVs will still be cheaper to use for a quick fix or quick hook-up.
There are also a couple of things working against such an idea as well. First, there’s the geofencing capability of fleet operators. City zones known for criminal activity could be easily locked out of the car’s navigation system.
Then there’s the need to use a credit card to rent a self-driving car, which pretty much closes the door on any hope one could get away with shady activities.
But, for people used to have it rough in dangerous neighborhoods, geofencing and credit cars should not be a problem.
Most importantly, we can imagine a future not unlike that of John’s, where startups are in the business of renting AVs for carnal pleasures, or for tours of the most decadent areas in the city, with samples of the local life included.
The two British researchers' paper is, as they say, just a starting point for a broader debate on how driverless cars will reshape our future. Feel free to share your thoughts on the matter in the comment section below.
Google News