Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao Says Trump Administration Will Be 'Catalyst' for Self-Driving Tech

[Mousse]

No. I don't think that will ever be the case. We have auto pilot, yet people still fly planes. I see technology as an assistant to humanity, not a replacement.

That being said there are certain areas where this tech probably will replace humans....uber and Lyft drivers for instance. Why have a human who may or may not be nice and may not even be good at directions take you somewhere when you could have a robot car pick you up and not get lost or be drunk or a mass shooter, etc.

I'm torn on this last bit because I like people having opportunities but if cars could drive themselves it sure would be helpful to certain segments of society. Imagine an elderly or blind person able to get around on their own with their own car in a way that is impossible now.

Like all things in 'Murica, the self driving car segment will be market driven. I see a lot of potential for self driven RV's. If I have to sit for hours in one place, I'd rather be the one control. Sure you can sleep in the passenger seat of a car, but you'll have a massive neck cramp unless you're a resilient youth. In an RV, you can conceivably tell it where you want to go, make your self a sammich or play poker with the guys or sleep in a bunk, etc. Hours long trip would not be so mind numbingly dull with nothing but interstate scenery.

 

[AsherN]

Biggest problem is accuracy of maps and GPS. While an autonomous car can do fairly well during the bilk of the travel, you still need a human for the "last mile". The house may not be exactly where the map has it. Your GPS popsition is only accurate to 10-20 meters. While that's not an issue to get a human where he needs to go, how is the automated car supposed to know?

Then there's stuff like road closures for constructon, etc.