Cars That Drive You To Work

In the NY Times today is a story on a "Pentagon-sponsored" auto race for cars run strictly by computer:

State of the art in robotics has reached the point where the most sophisticated autonomous vehicles can now drive comfortably and safely on a city course while surrounded by traffic and other obstacles.

In the future we will all have cars with the auto-pilot feature. The only thing preventing us from doing so now is the cost and a few kinks still left in the technology.

It is exciting to know that my morning ride to work could be spent reading the paper, watching TV, or even getting dressed - for those mornings when I find myself waking up late.

Also, the technology could bring new legal issues to the forefront. In the event there is a crash, will liability go to the to the drivers, or to the manufacture of the auto-pilot technology? The latter option seems like the most possible, which may cause some firms to hesitate in the development of such technologies.