Cisco study: people want a safer, more personalized driving experience

And they're willing to give up some of their privacy to get it.

Paul Leroux

Call me old-fashioned, but my hackles go up every time a web site or business asks me for personal information. My reaction is at once emotional and rational. Emotional because I'm a private person by nature; sharing details about myself simply goes against the grain. Rational because I know that people want this information more for their own benefit than for mine.

Does that mean I never share personal information? Of course not. Even if someone wants it primarily for their benefit, I may still enjoy some benefit in return. That said, I weigh the pro's and con's carefully. And I ask questions. For instance, who will have access to the information? And what will they do with it?

In effect, personal information becomes a form of tender — something I barter in exchange for a perceived benefit. And it seems I'm not alone.

Recently, Cisco published the results of a study on what car drivers would be willing to give up in exchange for a variety of benefits. For instance, 60% would provide DNA samples or other biometric information in return for personalized security or car security. And a whopping 74% would let their driving habits be monitored in return for lower insurance or service maintenance costs. Cisco sums it up in this infographic:

In autonomous we trust
The study also found that people are willing to embrace autonomous cars — but the enthusiasm varies significantly by geography. For instance, Canada trails the U.S. by 8 percentage points, but both countries are miles behind India or Brazil.

The study surveyed more than 1,500 consumers across 10 countries. That's only about 150 people per country, so I wouldn't put too much credence into this geographic breakdown. That said, the differences are dramatic enough to suggest that self-driving cars will see faster adoption in some countries than others.

For more on these and other findings, visit the Cisco website.