The automobile industry is about to experience transformative disruption as traditional carmakers respond to the Tesla challenge. The battle is not just about whether to go from combustion to electric but it extends the whole concept of motorized mobility. E-bikes, car-sharing, and autonomous driving are displacing the centrality of cars as not just a means of transportation but also a source of status and identity. The chip shortage also demonstrated the growing reliance on computers, exposing the limits of growth as cars become more and more computerized. In this world of uncertainties, could Knight Rider shed some light on the future of autonomous cars?
As a kid, I dreamed of having a (Knight Industries Two Thousand) KITT, a car that would work on my voice command. Little did I know that many of the traits in the show are now, nearly 40 years later, becoming a reality. To be sure, the show did not age well in some aspects (David Haselhoff sense of fashion for one and the tendency to show men’s bare hairy chest). Yet, on the car tech, they actually hit a few home runs. In this blog, I want to outline some traits that came up in the show that turned out to be well aligned with the direction of car development today.
Lone Ranger Riding a Dark Horse
Before proceeding, let me give you a quick intro to Knight Rider‘s plot. This 1980’s series revolves around the relationship between Michael, the lone ranger type out to save the world and his car KITT. The car, a supped-up version of a Pontiac Trans Am, is an AI-equipped vehicle that can self-drive, talk back to its driver, search databases, remotely unlock doors, and much more.
In the intro episode, we learned that Michael got a second chance in life. After being shot in the face by criminals, he undergoes plastic surgery and receives a new identity. Furthermore, a wealthy man bequeaths him the supercar along with the help of the team that built it to provide support. At his death bed, the wealthy magnate tells Michael the truth that will drive his existence: “One man can make a difference.”
Yes, the show does suffer from an excess of testosterone and a royal lack of melanin.
Yet, I contend that Michael is not the main character of the show. KITT, the thinking car steals the show with wit and humor. The interaction between the two is what makes an average sci-fi flick into a blockbuster success. You can’t help but fall in love with the car.
Knight Rider Autonomous Car Predictions
- Auto-pilot – this is the precursor of autonomous driving. While systems to keep speed constant has been common for decades, true autonomous driving is a recent advance. This is now an option for new Tesla models (albeit at a hefty $10K additional) and also partially present in other models such as auto parking, lane detection and automatic braking. This feature was not hard to predict. Maybe the surprise here is not that it happened but how long it took to happen. I suspect large auto-makers got a little cozy with innovation as they sold expensive gas-guzlers for most of the 90’s and early 00’s. It took an outsider to force them back into research.
- Detecting drivers’ emotions – At one point in the debut episode, KITT informs Michael that his emotional state is altered and he might want to calm down. Michael responds angry that the car would talk back to him. While this makes for a funny bit it is also a good prediction of some recent facial recognition work using AI. Using a driver’s facial experession alone is sufficient to assertain the indivudal’s emotional state. There is a lot of controversy on this one but the show deserves credit for its foresight. Maybe a car that tells you to “calm down” may be coming your way in the next few years.
- Remote manipulation of electronic devices – This is probably the most far-sighted trait in the show. Even this day it is difficult to imagine automated cars that can interact with the world beyond its chassis. Yet, this is also in the realm of possibility. Emerging Internet of Things (IOT) technology will make this a reality. The idea is that devices, appliances and even buildings can be connected through the Internet and operate algorithms in them. It envisions a world where intelligence is not limited to living beings or phones but all objects.
Conclusion
Science Fiction works capture the imagination of the time they are written. They are never 100% accurate but sometimes can be surprisingly predictive. Show creators did not envision a future of flat screens and slick dashboard designs as we have today. On the other hand, they envisioned aspects of IOT and emotional AI that we unimaginable at the time. In this case, besides being entertainment, they also help create a vision of a future to come.
Reflecting on this 40 year-old show made me wonder about current Sci-fi and their own visions of what is to come. How will coming generations look back at our present visions of their time? Will we reveal our gross blind spots like Knigth Rider while male individualism? Will we inspire future technology such as IOT?
This only highlights the importance of imagination in history making. We build a future now inspired by our contemporary dreams . Hence, it is time we start asking more questions about our pictures of the future. How much to they reflect our time and how much do they challenge us to become better humans? Even more importantly, do they promote the flourishing of life or an alternative cyber-punk society? Wherther it Knight Rider depiction of autonomous cars or Oxygen‘s view of cryogenics, they reflect a vision of a future captured at historical time.