While the technology is impressive, recognize that the only difference between a self-driving vehicle and a taxi is the driver. There are instances where replacing the driver with a computer can bring about significant savings — long-haul truckers and bus drivers being two obvious examples — but the single-occupancy vehicle commuting into the office is not one of them. The idea that people will pay thousands of dollars for the novelty of a computer driving their vehicle so that they can watch a movie, read a book, or catch up on their email seems more hype than reality. The modest shift from
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