I've been following driverless cars for at least a year. Kosko's criticisms are way off base. With driverless cars, the most efficient setup is where people use them like taxis. When you're hailing a car instead of using the same car you own every time, you're going to get a car tailored to your exact use that day.
That means when you're commuting to work, you're going to get a tiny single occupancy car. Currently, people are slogging to work in 5 seaters with huge trunks. Plus, with enough robot cars, and specialized lanes, you could start stripping out all the material in the car put in for accident protection. Without personal ownership, cars would be designed more for cost and fuel economy than aesthetics - eg, no one cares what buses look like on the outside when they take them. All this is going to lead to huge increases in fuel economy. Plus, the idea that mass transit systems are more efficient than cars in America is usually false, because buses are empty most of the time they run.
Chyamor, do you have a source for the 100 cars figure?
That means when you're commuting to work, you're going to get a tiny single occupancy car. Currently, people are slogging to work in 5 seaters with huge trunks. Plus, with enough robot cars, and specialized lanes, you could start stripping out all the material in the car put in for accident protection. Without personal ownership, cars would be designed more for cost and fuel economy than aesthetics - eg, no one cares what buses look like on the outside when they take them. All this is going to lead to huge increases in fuel economy. Plus, the idea that mass transit systems are more efficient than cars in America is usually false, because buses are empty most of the time they run.
Chyamor, do you have a source for the 100 cars figure?