A Letter from Grandpa in 2040: Listen up kids and I'll tell you about a time long ago, a time when cars were not smart. You could get into your car and tell it to start and it would just sit there, silent and mute. You actually had to turn it on by hand and even then, once it was on, it would just sit there. You would have to pilot it yourself, turning a round nob they called a "wheel" to tell it which direction to go while using your foot to press a "pedal" to give it "gas" to make it move. The car could not talk, not to the driver, to other cars, or the highway network, it was all alone, just you and the car. And once you were on the road the car could not sense proximity to other cars or objects and take action to avoid collisions. And it certainly couldn't sync with the autonet and plot your course and drive you to your destination. You can't imagine what driving was like then. The slightest mistake could result in a horrific accident. Be glad you live in a time when cars are smart and drive themselves.
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