I am eagerly looking forward to a day when all vehicles (or the vast majority) are autonomous. Not only would that allow drivers to get back all the time they would otherwise devote to operating their vehicles, but also it opens up a world of accessibility to blind people, the elderly, and others who (for whatever reason) can't drive themselves right now.<p>And there are network effects! If practically all cars are autonomous, they can talk to each other in sophisticated ways that are not feasible for manual operators, who largely rely on very rudimentary signaling (e.g. turn signals, flashing your brights, one-finger salute, etc.). This is fantastic for both safety and efficiency.<p>That said, what I think we should fear right now is not autonomous cars themselves, but misplaced expectations by drivers about how reliable the technology is right now. As long as everyone accurately understands their limitations, we can both limit our own risks and prevent the sort of backlash we're seeing now.