*By Amanda Weston* If forced to choose between putting their child in driverless car or in a vehicle driven by a stranger, the majority of parents, Ford reports, would prefer a non-human to take the wheel. "When we talk about trust, that's somewhere where we see something really jumping out at us," Sheryl Connelly, futurist at Ford ($F), told Cheddar Monday. "67 percent of the people we spoke to in our survey said they would rather their child ride in a self-driving vehicle than be in a vehicle with a stranger. And I think that's really powerful." That statistic is just one of many compiled in the seventh annual Further With Ford [trend report](https://social.ford.com/en_US/ford-community/ford-trends.html?fmccmp=link-fordtrends-home-none-fs-top-none-170615). The report amassed the opinions of survey respondents from around the world. The report shows that 43 percent of adults in the U.S. believe self-driving cars will drive more safely than humans at the wheel. Another part of the global survey looked at generational perspectives on the new technology: 72 percent of millennials said one of the biggest benefits of self-driving tech is the luxury of having more free time, compared to just 51 percent of baby boomers. Gen X and Gen Z came in at 64 percent and 71 percent, respectively. With self-driving at the forefront, Ford may already be building a solid reputation. Connelly said research shows if a group of self-driving cars pulled up to the curb, most people would choose the Ford model. "We think that has a lot to do with our legacy of trust and transparency," Connelly said. **Here are some of the other takeaways from the report:** * 87 percent of American adults think that technology is the biggest driver of today’s change. * 44 percent of women and 37 percent of men are afraid of Artificial Intelligence technology. * 42 percent of millennials and 43 percent of Gen Z believe that their phone/device knows more about them than their family. * More than 75 percent of adults worldwide think that companies don’t do enough to accommodate the needs of working parents. * 84 percent of adults agree companies should offer mental health days as part of their benefits. For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/ford-compiles-latest-trends-in-work-life-self-driving-car-trust-and-more).

Share:
More In Business
Is U.S. Restaurants’ Breakfast Boom Contributing to High Egg Prices?
It’s a chicken-and-egg problem: Restaurants are struggling with record-high U.S. egg prices, but their omelets, scrambles and huevos rancheros may be part of the problem. Breakfast is booming at U.S. eateries. First Watch, a restaurant chain that serves breakfast, brunch and lunch, nearly quadrupled its locations over the past decade to 570. Fast-food chains like Starbucks and Wendy's added more egg-filled breakfast items. In normal times, egg producers could meet the demand. But a bird flu outbreak that has forced them to slaughter their flocks is making supplies scarcer and pushing up prices. Some restaurants like Waffle House have added a surcharge to offset their costs.
Trump Administration Shutters Consumer Protection Agency
The Trump administration has ordered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to stop nearly all its work, effectively shutting down the agency that was created to protect consumers after the 2008 financial crisis and subprime mortgage-lending scandal. Russell Vought is the newly installed director of the Office of Management and Budget. Vought directed the CFPB in a Saturday night email to stop work on proposed rules, to suspend the effective dates on any rules that were finalized but not yet effective, and to stop investigative work and not begin any new investigations. The agency has been a target of conservatives since President Barack Obama created it following the 2007-2008 financial crisis.
Load More