[Alberta's Child]

You really got to the heart of the problem here. I've been saying this for years:

Self-driving cars are a solution in search of a problem.

I work in an industry where our clients deal with this sort of thing all the time. We are STEM professionals, and my industry is now being dominated by tech-savvy geeks who are almost pathological about pursuing technological advances for no other reason than to just do it. I knew self-driving cars didn't have a bright future when surveys showed that even people in MY industry don't find them all that appealing.

[cgbg]

I agree that for the vast majority of folks self-driving cars are not needed.

However, the baby boomers are gonna keep getting older and we are eventually going to be menaces on the road.

At some point it will be safer to have a self-driving car than a ninety five year old geezer at the while.

[nicollo]

tech-savvy geeks who are almost pathological about pursuing technological advances for no other reason than to just do it.

I enrolled a student of mine in a Verizon code-a-thon, and out of curiosity I attended to see what went on. As I wandered about listening to the groups try to decide what they would "solve," I was amazed by their life-ignorance and utter disconnect from the real world. One group was working on an app to "group source" office supplies, because they fretted that you can only buy 20-packs of pencils at Staples, for example, when you only need one. So if users each signed up for a pencil, they could divide the purchase.

I kid you not. (While I hardly expect this generation to know that the entire Staples model was to make available wholesale office supply purchases at retail, but one would hope they know that the CVS around the corner will sell them 3 pencils.) These kids believe that apps can solve problems that don't even exist.

As I left, I muttered to the Verizon rep that it's too bad none of them were working on an app to improve my phone service... He was not pleased.