Other forms of transport are likely to see more automation, driverless trains are a possibility although their introduction is likely to be significantly delayed due to the need for new infrastructure.
So, we will have driverless cars in 8-10 years, complete with all the work needed to basically rebuild the entire road network, fence of roads, add in new crossings (a road crossing today can cost well over £100k) and convince the population to give up motoring.
And yet trains, in a pretty controlled area right now (give or take open crossings and of course stations) may take significantly longer because of the need for new infrastructure.
Hmmm.
Why is it that I'd say driverless trains and a whole new rail network would be easier than the road version? And why is it that HS2 won't be complete until long after you've managed to design, build, test and install driverless cars? How many people will you expect to build the network? And I assume it's not just the UK going it alone, so how many people to do the whole of the EU, USA, Japan etc?
Spend more, perhaps without actually consuming any more.
Access facts more readily, but perhaps facts without much context.
Communicate more, but perhaps with less to say.
Alter our patterns of consumption, but to maximise supplier's access to customers and not to maximise our access to materials.
Electronic voting.
Electronic medical diagnostics and therapies.
I'd go along with all of that. Technology will make all of our lives easier (I've been saying for long enough that smartcards will transform travel, and this
IS going to happen!) and I doubt many people will want to design anything to actually stop humans being able to continue enjoying things as they do today.
However much technology advances, it is all built around people who aren't going to change much. We'll still be social creatures that want to talk to other real people, travel to see people and so on.
Sure, some people might have a vision of the future that mimics Demolition Man, Total Recall or I, Robot - but that's not a world many people would really want to live in... and the transformation to such a world isn't going to be in our lifetime, or a few after that.
If the car was conscious then there is the possibility it would want to do everything it can to save itself over everything else regardless of the consequences of this decision.
The car isn't going to be conscious. It's going to the running a computer program, which is probably going to need to be updated regularly with patches and updates. How often does your computer need system updates? Now imagine these having to be rolled out to your driverless cars - and the problems if some aren't updated. And what about sabotage? How do you prevent someone installing rogue code?
Don't say it's not a problem as it will be - especially for terrorists of the future. How will you solve that?