INTELLIGENT cars have been a part of our culture since the 1980s starting with the Knight Rider’s “Kitt”, a car probably far more intelligent than its driver.
The Batmobile is always on call for Batman and with a push of a button it would locate him and drive there.
Of course, having an automatic car with heavy weaponry may not be the best option for the average suburban driver.
A question may be what happens when the person using an autodrive car is drunk? Are they drink driving or drink autodriving?
A drunken slur may cause confusion as to which Cambridge to send them to, the one in Massachusetts, America or the University town in England. Should the autodrive cars share the locations of police alcohol testing stations so that their drunk passengers won’t get a fine?
Autodrive cars can be programmed to do many things, including to kill. Well, actually, to selectively kill. If an accident is going to hurt the passengers or someone outside, then being inside the car is the best option.
Hackers could lead to more worrying possibilities. Anarchists could create havoc by simply sending all of the autodrive cars onto the major roads and then have them stop in the middle of every intersection.
The end won’t come with the terminators shooting us down but rather it will be the autodrive cars running us down. Maybe it’s time to saddle up the horses again.
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The coffee is better at home
One of the major changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic was having to work from home. As Victoria has had no community cases for at least a month, the government has instructed all workers to return to their offices. The problem is that only about 50 percent have actually returned after almost a month.
Returning to office would give you a chance to talk with all of your colleagues whereas working from home would allow you to avoid talking to your colleagues – and the coffee is much better.
What many businesses and organisations have not realised is that the nature of the workplace has changed and working by video is often quite effective, and most employees won’t miss the regular meetings – and especially the meetings to discuss the meeting schedule.
It’s time to move on and stay at home.
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House price ratios
The newspapers frequently report on the increase in median house prices, but a better measurement might be ratios.
When I bought my first house in 1983 it cost three times my annual salary. When we moved 20 years later, it cost seven times my salary and just this weekend a modest house across the road sold for 17 times my salary.
Admittedly, teachers aren’t that well paid, and their salaries haven’t improved much over the years but how will anyone be able to buy a house soon? (dfitzger@melbpc.org.au)/PN
