The Next Big Thing

I’m not really a techno guy and I have frequently been wrong about how new technologies would be applied – at one point I thought dirigibles were going to make a big comeback – so my opinion in this matter is worth precisely zilch but I’ll present it anyway, and you may either mock me or prove me wrong in the comments as you see fit.

Look What’s Coming Down the Road

I’ve seen a couple of news articles lately that have me convinced that the next big step forward in technology is the automatic car.  No, I don’t mean like an automatic gearshift.  I mean an automatic car, like the Johnny Cab in Total Recall.

The technology is pretty close to being there.  Tests are being done.  I predict that within the next year or two, driverless cars will start to appear on the world’s roads.  Initially it will be a rare sighting, then nothing unusual, and then standard.

How long it takes to make that transition, that is the question.  There will be resistance.  Some people like to drive, they like to be in control of their car, it makes them feel important, manly.  Even some of the women.  They  think they can drive better than a computer.  They will all think of themselves as the John Henry of drivers, bravely resisting the rise of  the machines.

They may slow  things down a bit, but they will die in road accidents at a far higher rate than  those who are in safe, intelligent cars which see all road conditions, communicate with other vehicles, have lightning quick reactions, never get tired and do not get distracted by screaming  babies, phone calls, or oral sex.

Less aggressive, nervous drivers will be thrilled with the change.

Younger drivers, not as immersed in the King of the Road mentality, will take to the new ways.  Soon, I reckon within a decade, human drivers will only be found  on the racetracks, if there.  Really, you’re just watching a bunch of cars go round and round, would the crowd care if they didn’t have drivers?