According to Meme Necromancer Elon Musk, it's nearly time to let Robo Jesus take the wheel. Welcome to What the Future on today's show, we are talking about the future of self-driving cars, the only technology in existence that could someday make texting and driving an okay thing to do.

Let's get into it. Elon Musk and his merry band of Tesla engineers put on a spiffy presentation for Tesla's autonomy investor day and laid out a pretty rapid timetable for the dawn of the self-driving era. Musk said he expects Tesla's full self-driving system will be feature complete by the end of this year. He also said that users could be free to stop paying attention while using it by mid 2020, and that the technology should be clearing the last of the US government's regulatory hurdles by the end of 2020.

Tesla's fsd system uses a network of cameras as its eyes, as well as forward-facing radar and ultrasonic sensors. Notably absent from Tesla's presentation were lidar sensors and 3D mapping technology, both of which have been cornerstones of competing self-driving vehicles. Musk went so far as to say that anyone using lidar is doomed, believing that image analysis will prove to be more adaptable and reliable.

In fact, Tesla cars on the road right now are gathering information and visual data, which will be used to improve Tesla's self-driving software in the future. Musk says he expects to have Tesla's Robo taxis on the road in some jurisdictions by 2020, and if you're a Tesla owner, your car could someday be put to work as a taxi when you aren't using it, earning you money instead of sitting in a parking lot. If that wasn't enough, Musk said Tesla would unveil a car without a steering wheel within two years, leaving Jesus with no wheel to take.

Google's Alphabet conglomerate has been developing a self-driving car of its own, the company is called Waymo, and it's decided to set up shop in Detroit. Waymo says it wants the new facility up and running by mid 2019, and claims it will be the first factory entirely dedicated to building level 4 autonomous vehicles, level four meaning that they are capable of driving themselves in specific areas under specific conditions.

Waymo has a pilot program currently running in Phoenix, and an app available on the Google Playstore. However, even with the app, you'll need to be chosen from a wait list before hopping in Waymo. This race for self-driving cars is undoubtedly a thrill, but we're entering a time when technology is going to be making more and more choices about the safety of human beings, and that's a little scary.

The massive corporations making this technology are focused on making a profit, and as always, there are monetary incentives to cut corners. It's been done before, Boeing was recently in hot water because of a relatively new anti-stall system in its 737 Max 8 planes, which caused two tragic crashes when improper sensor information sent the planes into an automatic nosedive, killing hundreds of people so far.

Autonomous vehicle crashes have claimed the lives of three drivers and one pedestrian. How much control are we as a society willing to turn over to these corporate-built machines? I don't know about y'all, but when it comes to self-driving cars, I'm gonna think twice about letting go of the wheel. Would you trust our robot overlords to drive you and your kids about if self-driving cars were statistically safer than human drivers?

Let us know what you think down in the comments for last week's What the Future. There's also more good stuff from CNN right down here, and if you like what you saw, please like share and subscribe. Thanks for watching What the Future; I'm your host Jesse Aurel, see you next time!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enaccording to meme necromancer Elon Musk it's nearly time to let robo jesus take the wheel welcome to what the future on today's show we are talking about the future of self-driving cars the only technology in existence that could someday make texting and driving an okay thing to do let's get into it Elon Musk and his merry band of Tesla engineers put on a spiffy presentation for Tesla's autonomy investor day and laid out a pretty rapid timetable for the dawn of the self-driving era musk said he expects Tesla's full self-driving system will be feature complete by the end of this year he said that users could be free to stop paying attention while using it by mid 2020 and that the technology should be clearing the last of the US government's regulatory hurdles by the end of 2020 Tesla's fsd system uses a network of cameras as its eyes as well as forward-facing radar and ultrasonic sensors notably absent from Tesla's presentation were lidar sensors and 3d mapping technology both of which have been cornerstones of competing self-driving vehicles musk went so far as to say that anyone using lidar is doomed believing that image analysis will prove to be more adaptable and reliable in fact Tesla cars on the road right now are gathering information and visual data which will be used to improve Tesla's self-driving software in the future musk says he expects to have Tesla's Robo taxis on the road in some jurisdictions by 2020 and if you're a Tesla owner your car could someday be put to work as a taxi when you aren't using it earning you money instead of sitting in a parking lot if that wasn't enough musk said Tesla would unveil a car without a steering wheel within two years leaving Jesus with no wheel to take Google's alphabet conglomerate has been developing a self-driving car of its own the company is called way mo and it's decided to set up shop in Detroit way mo says it wants the new facility up and running by mid 2019 and claims it will be the first factory entirely dedicated to building level 4 autonomous vehicle level four meaning that they are capable of driving themselves in specific areas under specific conditions way mo has a pilot program currently running in Phoenix and an app available on the Google Playstore but even with the app you'll need to be chosen from a wait list before hopping in a way mo this race for self-driving cars is undoubtedly a thrill but we're entering a time when technology is going to be making more and more choices about the safety of human beings and that's a little scary the massive corporations making this technology are focused on making a profit and as always there are monetary incentives to cut corners it's been done before Boeing was recently in hot water because a relatively new anti stall system in its 737 max eight planes caused two tragic crashes when improper sensor information sent the planes into an automatic nosedive killing hundreds of people so far autonomous vehicle crashes have claimed the lives of three drivers and one pedestrian how much control are we as a society willing to turn over to these corporate built machines I don't know about y'all but when it comes to self-driving cars I'm gonna think twice about letting go of the wheel would you trust our robot overlords to drive you and your kids about if self-driving cars were statistically safer than human drivers let us know what you think down in the comments for last week's what the future click here there's also more good stuff from CNN right down here and if you like what you saw please like share and subscribe thanks for watching what the future I'm your host Jesse Aurel see you next time youaccording to meme necromancer Elon Musk it's nearly time to let robo jesus take the wheel welcome to what the future on today's show we are talking about the future of self-driving cars the only technology in existence that could someday make texting and driving an okay thing to do let's get into it Elon Musk and his merry band of Tesla engineers put on a spiffy presentation for Tesla's autonomy investor day and laid out a pretty rapid timetable for the dawn of the self-driving era musk said he expects Tesla's full self-driving system will be feature complete by the end of this year he said that users could be free to stop paying attention while using it by mid 2020 and that the technology should be clearing the last of the US government's regulatory hurdles by the end of 2020 Tesla's fsd system uses a network of cameras as its eyes as well as forward-facing radar and ultrasonic sensors notably absent from Tesla's presentation were lidar sensors and 3d mapping technology both of which have been cornerstones of competing self-driving vehicles musk went so far as to say that anyone using lidar is doomed believing that image analysis will prove to be more adaptable and reliable in fact Tesla cars on the road right now are gathering information and visual data which will be used to improve Tesla's self-driving software in the future musk says he expects to have Tesla's Robo taxis on the road in some jurisdictions by 2020 and if you're a Tesla owner your car could someday be put to work as a taxi when you aren't using it earning you money instead of sitting in a parking lot if that wasn't enough musk said Tesla would unveil a car without a steering wheel within two years leaving Jesus with no wheel to take Google's alphabet conglomerate has been developing a self-driving car of its own the company is called way mo and it's decided to set up shop in Detroit way mo says it wants the new facility up and running by mid 2019 and claims it will be the first factory entirely dedicated to building level 4 autonomous vehicle level four meaning that they are capable of driving themselves in specific areas under specific conditions way mo has a pilot program currently running in Phoenix and an app available on the Google Playstore but even with the app you'll need to be chosen from a wait list before hopping in a way mo this race for self-driving cars is undoubtedly a thrill but we're entering a time when technology is going to be making more and more choices about the safety of human beings and that's a little scary the massive corporations making this technology are focused on making a profit and as always there are monetary incentives to cut corners it's been done before Boeing was recently in hot water because a relatively new anti stall system in its 737 max eight planes caused two tragic crashes when improper sensor information sent the planes into an automatic nosedive killing hundreds of people so far autonomous vehicle crashes have claimed the lives of three drivers and one pedestrian how much control are we as a society willing to turn over to these corporate built machines I don't know about y'all but when it comes to self-driving cars I'm gonna think twice about letting go of the wheel would you trust our robot overlords to drive you and your kids about if self-driving cars were statistically safer than human drivers let us know what you think down in the comments for last week's what the future click here there's also more good stuff from CNN right down here and if you like what you saw please like share and subscribe thanks for watching what the future I'm your host Jesse Aurel see you next time you\n"