Parsad

While the city has been built around that station, it still looks like one of the quietest cities and stations in all of China! I only saw like 10 cars/trucks moving on the road near that station in that entire video! Cheers!

A real man would have done it with the windows up! Cheers!

I think most people on either side of this discussion need to step back for a minute. I've been to China, have lots of friends from both Hong Kong, ex-pats from Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan, and born in the U.S. and Canada. All I know is that they all want the exact same things...happiness, health, prosperity and safety. Interestingly enough, that's what all my North America friends and family also want! Now do governments do stupid things, nefarious things, etc including suppression of free speech, hiding the truth, etc. Sure. Pretty much every country around the world does. Why? Because politicians and government officials can be assholes! So take a breather...consider different perspectives...no one is asking you to move to China, except Cubs, but then he won't get to see the Cubs, so he's probably not going! Cheers!

Cubs, you sure you don't want to move to China?! Cheers!

I'm kind of the opposite. The more things change, the more I learn to tolerate it. Except bad drivers! Fuck bad drivers! It's why I want to see autonomous vehicles everywhere. So I don't have to see another moron cut me off because they were late seeing their exit. Plus they'll get rid of drivers under the influence! Cheers!

+1! Cheers!

RK...you're a frickin' wuss! Cheers!

Owning your home or cottage is an asset...not a liability like a vehicle. Regarding grocery stores...if you go into most grocery stores today, more than half the checkouts are self-checkout. That trend will probably not stop. What if you could walk into a grocery store, fill your cart with your groceries in the bags you brought, and just wheel your cart out of the store. You would be automatically charged by sensors as you exited and they didn't overcharge. Would you still go to a cashier? Cheers!

Like Berkshire, don't get confused by positions executed by Buffett and those executed by Todd and Ted. At Fairfax, the investment committee makes the really big investments, but junior managers, analysts are given a smaller portfolio to manage. The S&P500 position might be one of those portfolios...not a key position by the investment committee. Cheers!

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-facing-debt-storm-heres-201501407.html Cheers!

No one is saying that will disappear. But what percentage of drivers do those things? Maybe 15-20% at best! Do you think autonomous ride-sharing that is very cheap and efficient won't be adopted because 20% of the population likes to ski? That's not how the world works. Cheers!

Do you call 911 on your dial landline or your cell phone that could at any moment lose connection? I'm guessing you don't have a landline. Adoption of useable technology will change behaviors. It always has. And technology will get better and better. No one is saying there won't be car owners. But that number will shrink by 90% over time as autonomous ride sharing becomes better and better. Cheers!

Sorry, I missed the comment on Uber. Yes, that's part of it. But they would also have fewer accidents and don't have to worry about not having enough drivers during demand periods. It will actually reduce surge pricing since they can simply put more vehicles out on the road regardless if staffing is available or not. Cheers!

Because we don't have robots yet that are suitable or trained for medical assistance or fire fighting. You still need people for that and probably for another 20-30 years. With planes, the humans are the backup system presently. But they will be able to fly themselves no problem in the future. There is no reason why passenger planes will have to take off horizontally in the future. Once you remove that risk, autonomous takeoffs and landings will be safer than the average pilot. Not every pilot is Sully Sullenberger! Cheers!

You are already at risk for this when the power goes out, wifi/internet goes out, gas stations don't get fuel delivery, etc. You'll also have back up battery power stored offsite for recharging. Yes, you are correct that the economics will make more sense in urban centers. But that's how all technology works. Your rural wifi and internet are subsidized by users in urban centers. Just like your phone was or cable. It won't be any different. Cheers!

Autonomous vehicles are actually far better than the average driver. Estimated that presently, autonomous vehicles would be able to reduce 90% of accidents. But that isn't good enough. Engineers want to get that number to 99.9% which is probably a decade out. Cheers!

Look at what happened in Maui. Huge lineups on the single lane highway. If you have fewer vehicles on the road, traffic will move smoothly in emergencies. Fewer accidents in emergencies...less disruption. Cheers!

There will be a massive disruptive effect to many industries going forward with AI, autonomous vehicles and robotics. It's why so many people are studying minimum incomes for people. Occupations like cashiers, taxi drivers, bus drivers, truck drivers, etc are already slowly disappearing. There will come a day when all of those jobs no longer exist in every major urban center and surrounding areas. In terms of hacking, so much of our financial, health, personal information is already on servers. You are already exposed to that risk. Many vehicles can be started remotely by hacking already...Tesla's can even be driven remotely. Cheers!

Yes, presently. But that is the future. Also, again...if you're wife needs something, you can have stuff delivered within half an hour to your door these days. You don't need to get in the car and go to Whole Foods or Costco. Cheers!

Yes, there would be depots with cars added and removed as demand requires. The space would be created from all of the vehicles not on the road any longer owned privately. In an emergency, you could as easily have a flat and need to change the tire. Most vehicles would have run-flats as well. My cars for the last 8 years have all had run-flats...good for 200km up to 80 km/hr even when totally flat. I had one pop after hitting a huge pothole on the way to Bellevue. Drove all the way no problem and then took it to OK Tire the next morning. Future autonomous electric vehicles have fewer operating parts or service requirements...they will be far more reliable in an emergency then your vehicle today. It would be far better than UBER. That's why UBER is working on autonomous vehicles as well. They know that's the future. Cheers!

LOL! +1! Cheers!

- Random emergency...if a vehicle is in front of your door as soon as you are dressed and walk out the front...how is that any less efficient than your own vehicle. And it won't be stressed, driving erratically or tired. - Popping over to a friends/parents...no different than if you drove them yourself. - Kids sporting events/practice...again same. Simply schedule the car to come when you need it. - Random schedule changes...if you are a single car family and have two or more people using that vehicle, this would be far more efficient and easier for random events. - Forgot the avocado on taco Tuesday...groceries can be delivered to your door within a half hour these days...I do 90% of my grocery shopping by delivery. - Joy ride on a lazy afternoon evening...sure, pleasure owners will still own...but you could as easily hop into an autonomous vehicle and have it drive you all day, while the cost would be less than owning your own vehicle and doing the same thing! - Helping a buddy move something...this might be more efficient...have the truck arrive when you need it, program the destination it needs to go to after you load, and meet it there to unload at the time you desire. This would be especially efficient for interstate moves. Load up the truck, program it and set it on its way in Los Angeles and it will meet you in New York 4 days later. You leisurely book your flight to get there whenever you want before the truck arrives...you're not driving for days, you're not tired...truck moves 24/7 over 4 days while you get some sleep! Almost anything your surmise, would probably be either cheaper, easier or as efficient as owning your own vehicle. Cheers!

No, that won't change for pleasure owners. But you might drive your car less frequently and take the driverless car for other chores. The greatest impact will be in urban centers and suburbs of large urban centers. You'll also get rid of a lot of vehicles on freeways, which will make driving and times more efficient. Wait till you start to see driverless 18 wheelers! Moving goods 24/7! Autonomous ports/cranes. Autonomous trains. Autonomous shipping (already there). And lastly, autonomous aircraft flying in and out of major airports with seamless precision. Cheers!

You won't be waiting 30 minutes for a car in the future. It will be completely autonomous and everything mapped algorithmically based on demand. More cars will be added as needed...similar to how driverless subway systems operate. Busy times, more trains added and more frequent train stops. If you can get more cars off the road owned by individuals, as 70% of vehicles driven during rush hours in urban centers are single-person occupied, you actually increase the space for vehicles to travel, park and greater efficiencies in traffic times. You also wouldn't have huge suburban populations with 2-3-4 cars. Or areas in cities with significant authorized/unauthorized suites eating up tons of street parking. Imagine if traffic flowed seamlessly, your travel times were shorter than they are today, you have no ownership expense and accidents occur far less frequently! That's where we are headed! Cheers!

+1! LOL! They already do regarding a stick shift and clutch. Hell my niece and nephew laugh when I say "hang up the phone" or "dial the number!" They have no clue what I mean by "tape" the show either...I have to say "record" the show. They also get a kick out of the desktop computer mouse, since everything they use (iPhone; iPad) is all touch. Cheers!