The future of self-driving cars may disrupt privacy

The driverless cars that are to be seen in the very near future seem to have cameras that are always on, causing concerns for privacy.

The city of San Francisco might be on the brink of having self-driving cars, as promised by multiple car makers and tech giants. The utopian idea of high-tech cars are essentially robot cars that can drive around safer than any human while being able to drop off and pick up passengers.

Even though the city has a limited network of driverless cars in place, the reality is much more awkward and intrusive than what the people developing the technology once envisioned.

The vehicles that the companies outlined make both those inside and outside of them safer thanks to AI. However, experts say that the always-on, recording cameras can also be hazardous to personal safety, in addition to reports that cars are increasingly a hindrance to public safety. According to a recent Bloomberg report, Google-owned Waymo, one of the companies operating San Francisco's self-driving cars, has received requests from law enforcement for a video that it recorded while operating the vehicles.

The ways in which the companies gather, store, and handle user data are crucial to monitor as self-driving technology spreads beyond California to cities in Texas and Arizona and becomes more prevalent worldwide.

According to Waymo and Cruise, they review every bit of law enforcement request that comes their way but seemingly only comply with the ones that are necessary.