Chapter 2. Drive or Be Driven: Who holds the keys?
#Thoughtpreneur Soul Thesis Series
DISRUPTION
Elon Musk says self-driving cars are coming because driving is "boring".
But come on, is that really it?
Why would one of the most powerful people on Earth be obsessed with removing manual control?
Who stands to gain from us no longer knowing how to drive?
Once nobody can drive anymore, who holds the keys?
Yes, there will be a mass loss of driving jobs: instructors, taxi drivers, lorry drivers, examiners… [*Note to self - find out how many driving jobs & related verticals in the UK alone will be affected]
But, I have a niggling feeling that there’s something deeper here. If no one knows how to drive, because all cars are automated. Then whoever programs the cars controls where we can and can’t go.
Think about it. Movement could be banned. No late-night detours. No spontaneous road trips. No driving across cities, or through invisible borders, unless permission is granted!
You’re no longer in control of the wheel. You become cargo, not the captain.
This Isn’t Just Cars. It’s Everything. We could be standing on the edge of a subtle societal shift. A fundamental shift in how we move, think, learn, and feel. Of control over our own life and behaviours. Where the skills we take for granted like cooking, writing, thinking, deciding, and now moving are being outsourced to machines in the name of “convenience”.
And slowly but surely, our muscles of freedom start to diminish. Like any muscle, if it's not used regularly, it wastes away.
Let me ask you:
Can you read a map? Or do you rely on Google maps?
Can you ride a horse?
Can you grow your own food? Or do you pop to the supermarket?
Just like history shows, once something new, something more convenient is on offer, we adopt without question and quickly forget the old way.
I'm worried we’re about to forget how to drive. And in doing so, will we forget how to decide?
We're told that self-driving cars are the future. That they’ll save lives, reduce emissions, and give us time back. That human drivers are chaotic, flawed, outdated. That AI will keep us safer, saner, and more efficient.
And to be fair, it’s probably partly true.
It’s being framed as a utopia. But what if, like every other revolution before, the truth is a little messier?
This chapter is part of the ongoing #Thoughtpreneur Soul Thesis - a living series exploring the rewilding of humans and reimagining of systems.
This is not a rebellion against tech. It’s a reunion with humanness.
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We walk inward. We rewild. Then we rise and create something worth sharing.
🌀 Subscribe for future chapters. I write slowly, intentionally, and from the soul.