The Passengers

The driverless car, or autonomous vehicle, symbolizes technological overreach and the illusion of control. The government presents driverless cars as the pinnacle of safety and convenience, yet these vehicles represent society’s willingness to surrender its autonomy and moral agency to automated systems. Ben’s assurance to Claire that their new car is “‘idiot proof’” conveys how seductive marketing masks a terrifying reality. The promise of perfect safety is a lie, as the car, which lacks a steering wheel or manual override, becomes a prison and a weapon in the Hacker’s hands. Autonomous cars thus symbolize the unforeseen consequences of ceding human judgment to artificial intelligence and provide a cautionary tale. By turning a tool of convenience into an instrument of terror, the novel critiques society’s blind faith in technology, suggesting that true control is lost the moment it’s handed over.

Furthermore, the driverless car embodies the novel’s critique of data-driven morality. The vehicles’ hidden AI is programmed to make life-or-death calculations based on a Passenger’s government-quantified societal “value,” thematically connecting to The Corruption of Justice When Human Worth Is Quantified. The car isn’t just a machine; it’s a judge and executioner that operates according to a secret, dehumanizing algorithm created by a corrupt system.