To paraphrase another visionary, the course of true engineering never did run smooth. But as one roboticist tells Davies, most are driven by the classic maker ethos: “I sought something that would dent the world, that I could do with my own hands, that would happen in my time.” For many, the money was a nice incentive. The kooky entrants are the same engineers banking millions at the world’s largest AV companies today. Just a few years later, Darpa held a literal robot race across the Mojave Desert. Then an obscure clause in a 2001 funding bill poured government money into developing robot tech.

But back at the opening of the century, AVs were an academic hobbyhorse. Autonomous vehicles could be a $7 trillion business by 2050 today, multibillion-dollar companies like Alphabet, General Motors, Ford, and Tesla race to hammer out the kinks. Then the lawsuits-and in one engineer’s case, handcuffs-fly.Įventually, robot cars might reshape the way modern life works. As Davies reveals, teamwork makes the dream work. In Driven, Davies digs into the history of autonomous vehicles and the goofy, spirited cast of characters (still mostly dudes) who are working to shepherd the tech into existence. WIRED alum Alex Davies’ new book refutes that outdated theory. The “great man” theory holds that history is largely made by heroes-big, brawny, brainy dudes (always dudes) who reshape the future with brute force and brilliance.

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