Automated and connected? Smartphones and automobility through the global south

ABSTRACT

In this article, we propose a research agenda that re-thinks the future of automated and connected automobilities through the prism of the global south. Dominant English language discourses about future automobilities focus on purported benefits and dangers of the growing levels of automation and connectedness associated with the introduction of autonomous driving vehicles in the global north. We argue that in a context of global inequalities and diversity these narratives need to be redefined. In doing so, we draw on our research into car–smartphone configurations in Brazilian commuting experiences.

KEYWORDS:

• Automobility
• smartphones
• global south
• automation and connectivity
• autonomous driving
• futures

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Generally as the anthropologist Thomas Hylland Eriksen has pointed out in his 2015 blog post, “the Global North is associated with stable state organization, an economy largely under (state) control and – accordingly – a dominant formal sector. The recipients of foreign aid, needless to say, belong to the Global South. China and – again – Argentina are hard to fit in” (https://thomashyllanderiksen.net/2015/05/04/whats-wrong-with-the-global-north-and-the-global-south/, accessed 30 November 2017.

2. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jun/23/will-your-driverless-car-be-willing-to-kill-you-to-save-the-lives-of-others, accessed 11 December 2017.

3. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs358/en/, accessed 11 December 2017.

4. See here for a recent commentary on the state of the BRIC group https://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21723133-brazil-russia-india-and-china-have-done-even-better-forecastthanks-mainly, accessed 30 November 2017.

5. Some car companies are not preparing to launch AD in these markets, see e.g. http://www.livemint.com/Companies/Q4OqjNvaFZaQnDNG32tZvI/Renault-CEO-rules-out-selfdriving-cars-for-India-Brazil-f.html, accessed 30 November 2017.

6. See https://www.waze.com/, accessed, 12 December 2017.

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8. https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/cotidiano/2017/10/1931061-brasil-tem-1-roubo-ou-furto-de-veiculo-a-cada-minuto-rio-lidera-o-ranking.shtml, accessed 14 June 2018.

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10. http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_safety_status/2015/Road_Safety_PAHO_Englishv2.pdf?ua=1, accessed 30 November 2017.

11. http://vias-seguras.com/os_acidentes/estatisticas/estatisticas_nacionais.

12. https://www.statista.com/statistics/625406/smartphone-user-penetration-in-brazil/, accessed 14 June 2018.

13. http://www.progressivepolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/PPI_BrazilAppEconomy_EN_V6_AW.pdf, https://www.emarketer.com/Article/Latin-America-Brazil-Leads-Mobile-App-Usage/1014395, accessed 14 June 2018.

14. http://www.forodeseguridad.com/artic/segcorp/7229-que-es-la-seguridad-patrimonial.htm, accessed 10 December 2017.

15. http://edition.cnn.com/2015/10/05/americas/brazil-wrong-directions-death/index.html, accessed 26 November 2017.