Nobody will be free once the Russians take control of the wheel

Three years ago, Morgan Stanley, the investment firm, put out a chart predicting that in 2018, all cars would be able to drive themselves and that by 2026, we would have “a utopian society of entirely self-driving cars.”

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None of us would ever drive ourselves again, in fact, we might not be allowed to ever drive ourselves again.

Well, look around – it’s coming true.

I must ask: will America will really accept this?

You say, in a heartbeat! Because in a self-driving car, I can read, I can sing, I can sleep, I can stick my head out the window with my mouth open and my tongue hanging out. That’s freedom.

Except, while you’re feeling all free, a giant server farm in a desert somewhere knows your location, speed, direction, tire pressure, choice of radio station, and the song that’s playing. The company will charge you by the mile, charge you more to go faster, and then double everything during peak hours.

Then the Russians will figure out how to hack the system. Oh, at first, it’s just the occasional vanished real estate agent, but then some Monday morning, it’s the day the Earth stood still.

But Dave, you say, people are horrible drivers. The death toll is unacceptable, and this is a small price to pay. Plus, what are the chances any of these terrible things will happen?

I am not saying they will happen. I am only saying we are building the kind of system which would allow them to happen because we were too impatient, too stubborn, and too pre-occupied just to watch the road.

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