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Comment by stevenjgarner

6 hours ago

Why? Are you worried from a liberty/privacy standpoint? "Smart" EV's are demonstrated to be significantly safer than "dumb" EVs. Waymo’s 2025/2026 data shows an 80–90% reduction in injury-causing crashes compared to human drivers in the same cities. [1, 2, 3, 4]

[1] https://www.reinsurancene.ws/waymo-shows-90-fewer-claims-tha...

[2] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11305169/

[3] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39485678/

[4] https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Comparison-of-Swiss-Re-h...

Personally I’m not very keen on owning a vehicle the manufacturer can completely brick at will

  • So liberty then. I don't disagree with you, but this modern flashpoint in the classic debate between individual liberty and collective safety does bring up the question what is saving 50,000+ lives annually actually worth in terms of loss of personal freedoms? I am personally struggling with this debate having lost loved ones in this manner.

I assume GP meant cars with internet connectivity features, not (real) self driving tech.

  • The assertion that 'I just hope "dumb" EV's become a thing soon' led me to a different assumption. The ultimate aspiration of a "smart" EV is self-driving, which incorporates Internet connectivity features (e.g. digital mapping, over the air updates, etc).

    • "Smart" in all other classes of purchases typically means IoT / Internet connected.

      The computerization of formerly mechanical features making it harder to DIY repair is a separate but also valid concern, though I'm not sure how it applies to EVs.

      Added: see https://x.com/IntCyberDigest/status/2011758140510142890 for exactly the kind of thing that nobody wants.