Google's driverless cars are a boon for safety and climate, but not for privacy | Dan Gillmor

While riders will have some freedom to move, they won't have the ability to move without others watching and storing their data

Last week, at a technology conference in California, Google unveiled the latest version of its driverless vehicle, a two-seater that has no steering wheel or other driver controls.

As others have noted, the idea of the driverless car assuming it can be done right is enormously attractive, and not just for the reasons in Google's breathless introduction. A fleet of semi-autonomous electric of hydrogen-powered vehicles could be a boon in all kinds of ways, including the potential for making our roads and highways much safer, for dealing with growing demand and the environment, for freeing up current drivers' time to do more productive things than steer a car.

You can take a trip downtown at lunchtime without a 20-minute buffer to find parking. Seniors can keep their freedom even if they can't keep their car keys. And drunk and distracted driving? History.