What is autonomous technology?

Answer 1

Autonomous technology refers to machines that act independently of humans. They may do things we find boring or don't like doing, or behave in ways that mimics humans.

Already many factories behave in a way like autonomous entities, producing cars, for example, with very little human control.

Most advanced aircraft are almost entirely autonomous, in the sense that they can take off, fly, obey air traffic control, avoid other aircraft, and land, all without human intervention except to tell them where to go.

For many years people have been talking about cars that can drive themselves safely by keeping a fixed distance from the side of the road, looking out for obstacles and reacting appropriately, and keeping a safe distance from the vehicle ahead. This kind of vehicle is already in use, but only in controlled environments such as warehouses.

There are also early examples of domestic robots that can do simple housekeeping tasks.

The concern about autonomous technology is the scenario of autonomy getting out of control and machines behaving as if they are making decisons entirely without human intervention.