Tom Sloan: Self-Driving Car?

aNewDomain.net — I don’t have to do anything anymore. Compared to the olden days, no one really has to do anything. Set the thermostat and the temperature will stay there all by itself. Get a robotic vacuum to suck up your whole house. Don’t dial a phone number, just speak the name — the phone will handle all that complicated stuff. TVs automatically record the shows you want and apps like Pandora will play your favorite music without input. Now cars…cars have automatic transmissions so you don’t even have to shift. And soon? Well, the self-driving car pretty much speaks for itself: Airplanes have had auto-pilot modes for years. But some pilots complain that it’s too automatic, to the degree that some pilots hardly have enough practice to fly the planes manually. So, what are we in for when Google comes out with self-driving cars? I don’t know. But I wonder if they’ll be programmed to drive like real humans. Will the cars drive real slow when you’re in a hurry? Will they floor it through a yellow light and rev their engines the second your light turns green? Will they creep along at 40 mph when the speed limit is 55, or will they fly by at 75 when the speed limit is 35? Will they cut you off, give you the finger and never use their turn signal? Will they throw litter out the window? It sure is a futuristic world. And pretty soon I really won’t have to do anything. Only time will tell if those self-driving cars will operate like humans or not. For aNewDomain.net, I’m Tom Sloan.