“What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.”
In the case of one emerging technological trend this won’t be true.
On March 1, 2012 the state of Nevada will make it legal for self-driven cars to operate.
Initially, Google, BMW and other automobile manufacturers will use the law to continue to work on improving the technology. (Which in Google’s case is already quite sophisticated: The company’s self-driven cars have already cruised more than 250,000 miles without an accident.)
Over time, however, expect other states and countries to begin passing similar laws to allow for the operation of self-driven vehicles.
As I explained in this recent post, Ford’s Faux Futuristic F&ck-Up, the company should spend less time focusing on integrating social media platforms into cars and instead concentrate on creating self-driven vehicles. I’m convinced younger consumers will be more interested in the latter.
P.S. The other trend “driving” self-driven vehicles: America’s aging population. As people grow older giving up the keys to their automobiles is often a serious blow to their feeling of independence. With self-driven vehicles no such loss would be necessary. In other words, your Oldsmobile might be like your grandfather’s Oldsmobile in the sense that they will both be self-driven.
