I voted for "never", because I think that an autonomous vehicle capable of transporting single or multiple individuals through the air without their input will probably not be called a "car".
Sure, I suppose "car" is just short for "carriage", or Latin "carrus" = wheeled carriage. But to most people, I think the word "car" implies freedom of deciding HOW exactly to get from A to B. You want to endanger yourself and others by stopping on the roadside to take pictures of the scenery? Go right ahead, your car allows it!
So perhaps slashdot isn't going down the drain just yet, after all
By the way, with AI traffic control, it might be possible to avoid traffic jams, and worse, mid-air collisions caused by all those people who already had trouble driving cars in 2D but at that point, I wonder whether owning such a device would even make sense to many? It could probably just be a public transit system, where the nearest free carriage can be summoned at any time, and will then take you to your specified destination in the fastest way possible, taking into account traffic congestion, weather, etc. (But not your rumbling belly, which would have made you stop at that fast food place if you were driving a car!)
People would have to weigh the added luxury which is only possible with an owned vehicle against the convenience of getting a nearby carriage in virtually no time, and without parking/storage woes...
The Tao doesn't take sides; it gives birth to both wins and losses. The Guru doesn't take sides; she welcomes both hackers and lusers.
