Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Apple may not be building a self-driving car, but it sure cares a lot about rules for self-driving cars

Read Apple’s letter to federal regulators.

pathdoc / Shutterstock

For a company that isn’t supposed to be working on a self-driving car, Apple has a lot of very specific thoughts on federal rules for self-driving cars.

Apple has spelled them out in a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, where the company says it is “investing heavily in the study of machine learning and automation and is excited about the potential of automated systems in many areas, including transportation.”

That doesn’t mean Apple is actually building a self-driving car — a series of reports indicates that Apple had been interested in that idea, but now seems more likely to be licensing out its software for other people’s self-driving cars.

But the letter does suggest that Apple wants to keep its options open if it does decide to build a car.

Whether Apple ultimately decides to develop its own car or license its software, this letter is the closest the company has come to revealing its official thoughts on self-driving technology.

The letter, written by Steve Kenner, Apple’s director of product integrity, calls on regulators to treat new players the same as established automakers when they want to test self-driving cars, in order to “create a fair environment for all companies to make progress toward automated vehicles.”

Like many of its potential competitors, Apple also expressed concern over a portion of the NHTSA guidelines that calls on companies to share safety information and data with each other. A coalition of companies with interests in the car business, — including Google, Uber, Lyft, Volvo and Ford — has made it clear that they don’t want to expose proprietary information.

Apple, which Kenner wrote is looking forward to “collaborating with other stakeholders to define the specific data that should be shared,” also expressed concern over securing the privacy of its consumers’ data and suggested that other companies should be investing resources into doing so.

We’ve reached out to Apple for comment on the letter and will update if and when we hear back.

Related

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

More in Technology

Technology
The case for AI realismThe case for AI realism
Technology

AI isn’t going to be the end of the world — no matter what this documentary sometimes argues.

By Shayna Korol
Politics
OpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agendaOpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agenda
Politics

The AI company released a set of highly progressive policy ideas. There’s just one small problem.

By Eric Levitz
Future Perfect
Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.
Future Perfect

Protecting astronauts in space — and maybe even Mars — will help transform health on Earth.

By Shayna Korol
Podcasts
The importance of space toilets, explainedThe importance of space toilets, explained
Podcast
Podcasts

Houston, we have a plumbing problem.

By Peter Balonon-Rosen and Sean Rameswaram
Technology
What happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputerWhat happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputer
Technology

How they’re using AI at the lab that created the atom bomb.

By Joshua Keating
Future Perfect
Humanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious missionHumanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious mission
Future Perfect

Space barons like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk don’t seem religious. But their quest to colonize outer space is.

By Sigal Samuel