[Mister Pontiac]

I doubt it.

20 years? No way. 100 years? Perhaps, but still not likely. Here's why...

I live in this (utopian?) world of automation today (flying) where the machine can do essentially everything, if (and this is the catch) everything is programmed correctly and the computers are operating correctly. But without me being there to program and monitor things, the machine goes nowhere. And even when it does all work properly, I still have to sit there and monitor it. While monitoring, I can't tell you the number of times my partner and I say, "what's it doing now?" And this occurs even when it's programmed correctly.

How many of you have had your computer or smartphone simply stop responding, lock up, shut down, whatever? Yep, we all have. Stray electrons are a fact of life with electrical gadgets.

My prediction? Sure, there will be 'driverless' cars, but not unmonitored cars. I envision it like autopilot for cars. It's cruise control combined with braking and accelerating, plus navigation coupling for steering. However, just like airplanes today, someone will always need to be in there to keep an eye on things.