A homegrown global leader in Enterprise Information Management (EIM) has released its findings from a survey indicating that the majority of Canadians think autonomous cars (AVs) will outnumber conventional cars on the road within the next 15 years. Waterloo-based OpenText found that a majority of respondents also believe AVs will make overall driving conditions safer, it said in a news release.
OpenText’s survey queried 2,000 Canadians about their attitudes and feelings towards Artificial Intelligence (AI) in areas such as autonomous vehicle technology (AVs), government services and health care.
It found that 72 per cent of Canadians predict that there will be more AVs on the road in 15 years than “normal” cars. But despite the high percentage of respondents who see AVs as being the dominant type of car on Canadian roads in the future, only 35 per cent of those surveyed said they would feel comfortable being a passenger in an AV.
When it came to road safety, 57 per cent of those surveyed believe road safety will improve as more AVs are introduced onto the streets — 35 per cent of those respondents believe safety conditions will improve overall because AVs obey all traffic rules.
The survey also discovered that 62 per cent said they would not have any issue with driving in an autonomous car that obeyed every traffic law without question — the same went for being a passenger in such a car.
“As Canadian organizations begin to deploy AI technology in day-to-day activities our comfort levels will increase, and we’ll be able to unlock the power of the truly revolutionary opportunities it presents,” said Adam Howatson, Chief Marketing Officer at OpenText in the release.
