Just thinking through it, these things WILL get figured out in the next couple decades. It could happen very quickly, or it may take a while, but it'll get done. The technology is already too close to a reality for it not to happen.
So given that, the implications are incredible to think about. Off the top of my head (and summarizing some from the article and elsewhere), here are a few. These are all, of course, purely theoretical depending on how things work out.
- Cars could take kids to and from school on their own, freeing up parents.
- People who are visually impaired would have a way to get around much more.efficiently, potentially increasing the portion of blind people who can reasonably work.
- Traffic congestion could be reduced dramatically, as human reactions are the cause of a huge amount of it currently.
- Drunk driving could be reduced dramatically.
- Car sharing could become the norm since you could potentially have a huge fleet of cars-on-demand to show up when you need them.
- The elderly could stay mobile much further in their lives, improving longevity and quality of life dramatically.
It's fascinating to consider all the possibilities. If it works perfectly, I think it could be as big of a cultural revolution as the internet.