by veen

Here is the secret promise—and threat—of autonomous cars. When the self-driving car achieves its full potential, it could well become perfectly normal to commute 180 miles each way. With a mature highway ecosystem consisting almost entirely of autonomous cars, you could leave your picturesque home in Bennington, Vermont, at 7:30 a.m. in order to walk through your office door in midtown Manhattan at 9.

I interviewed a professor who does a lot of research on the topic last week. He said that the technical issues are nice to write about, but what's really interesting is the effect of the technology on society. To quote G-man, prepare for unforeseen consequences...