Are autonomous cars the future? I hope not.

There has been a lot of talk about self-driving cars recently, and while this sounds promising, I have some concerns. This may be because I simply love driving, and the thought of having to give up this pleasure to a computer is something I simply don't want to do.

Hackers

In a world filled with 2 ton computers blasting down the highway, when suddenly several vehicles are hacked, and disaster strikes. It sounds like a sci-fi horror movie, but this could very well happen with self-driving vehicles. I'm sure there will be programs to help prevent this, but if it has an operating system, someone, somewhere, will find a way to hack it.

Cost

Even the cheapest of vehicles cost twenty thousand dollars, so how much would the cheapest self-driving car cost? Seventy thousand, maybe eighty? Most people would not be able to afford that, and I'm sure that in time the technology would be cheaper, but initially its going to be way too expensive.

Weather

In a perfect world I'm sure these cars will do fine, but what happens in rain, snow, or ice? How will the weather affect the laser guided systems? Say you're traveling down the road and the sensors on the front get covered in mud, or ice, will the car suddenly lock up, leaving you stranded in the middle of the road until the sensor is cleared of debris? This may not be a huge issue in the city, but in rural parts where there are still dirt and gravel roads this may be a big issue.

Recalls

Auto manufacturers have a hard enough time building a safe vehicle as is, do we really want to go to the next step and give them full control? Think about the number of recalls you hear about daily, and I'm not meaning handles and glove boxes, I'm talking brakes, engines, transmissions, major mechanical failures. Another thing I thought about (and this may just be my paranoia) but terrorist can essentially turn these into mobile bombs.

These are the major concerns I have with the technology, but there are other things I'm curious about also.

Accidents

While this may cut back on accidents there will still be wrecks, but now who's at fault? Would it be the auto manufacturers, the owner of the vehicle, systems manufacturer, maybe no fault? I'm curious how this would work, because I don't see how you could put fault on the owner, unless it was an issue they were aware of, and neglected to repair it.

Unemployment

With self driving vehicles unemployment will skyrocket, were talking the loss of millions of jobs. I just can't see a way to make up for that loss, and I know that the development and maintenance of these cars may create some jobs, its nowhere near the amount that would be lost.