The Passengers

In The Passengers, the proliferation of autonomous vehicle technology fosters a dangerous illusion of control, suggesting that humanity’s increasing reliance on artificial intelligence creates new and unforeseen vulnerabilities. The novel uses the hijacking of eight driverless cars to explore how ceding human judgment to supposedly infallible systems erodes moral responsibility and makes society susceptible to manipulation. The novel argues that true control lies not in perfecting technology but in retaining the human capacity for moral reasoning.

The central premise of the hijacking immediately dismantles the illusion of safety that autonomous cars are built upon. The Passengers have varying levels of comfort with driverless cars. The technology’s supposedly “idiot proof” design only slightly reassures Claire Arden, who initially expresses that she doesn’t “like not being in control” (6). However, the moment the Hacker takes over, any sense of security the Passengers had evaporates. The car, once a symbol of convenience and progress, becomes a prison. The Hacker uses technology to render the Passengers helpless, unable to steer, stop, or even open the doors. This sudden and total loss of autonomy is a metaphor for the broader societal risk of entrusting critical functions to complex systems that few understand.