Autonomous Vehicles: How Big a Deal?

“The car drove us around downtown London, which is one of the most challenging driving environments imaginable, and it was a bit surreal to be in the car as it dodged all the traffic,” Gates said.

According to what Bill Gates said in a recent interview quoted above, he believes that the “tipping point” for autonomous vehicles will happen within 10 years.

That’s worth a few minutes’ thought, isn’t it?

Today, the paradigm for personal vehicular travel is shifting from car ownership to ride-hailing.  Increasingly, young people are rejecting the idea of car ownership, and many are even uninterested in getting a drivers’ licenses.

OK, so what’s the difference between getting in the back seat of a car driven by a human being and one piloted by a robot?

Environmentalists are more concerned about the amount of energy consumed per mile driven, and, of course, the footprint of that energy in terms of noxious emissions.