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...

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So I have a serious hatred for the commute mostly because of traffic and the amount of wasted life that commuting takes from me. So I live within 10 minutes of my work and even looked for a house that would allow me to drive against traffic in the morning. They go West when I go East and vice versa. It is tremendously better for my well-being to not encounter traffic.

That being said, I used to take a train to work, and enjoyed that as well. I would get to read, doze off, pretty much do anything that driving would otherwise occupy my mind for. The only downside is that I had to be on the train with other people. I much prefer the privacy and calm of the personal commute. Combining these two together would be heavenly. I'm super excited.

posted 3255 days ago