Americans Leery of Self-Driving Tech But Expect It Anyway

One in five Americans would consider owning a fully autonomous vehicle today, and 27% say they would ride in a robo-taxi, according to Intel Corp. and PSB Research.

However, one-third of those surveyed by the two companies say they feel “unsafe” around any type of self-driving vehicle. Responses differ by age and gender, with 42% of women and 39% of all respondents more than 35 years old expressing concern. Only 24% of men and 25% of Millennials agree. 

The study says nearly two-thirds of respondents expect autonomous vehicles will be commonplace in 50 years. The leading activities people envisioning doing in such vehicles are entertainment (58%), socializing (57%) and working (56%). Less popular are in-vehicle grooming (26%) and exercising (14%).

To help near-term acceptance and commercialization, Intel says the auto industry needs to do a better job of educating people as advanced-driver-assist systems are introduced. The chipmaker also calls for an industrywide effort to establish global safety standards for such technologies.