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The era of the self-driving car is likely to change quite a bit about what people do in their automobiles. Released from the truly horrible curse of having to actually drive, commuters could be free to apply makeup, brush their teeth, read a book, watch a movie, or any of the other things people would never, ever be dumb enough to do while driving today. But there might be a sexy side to the autonomous commute of the not-too-distant future, too: When people don’t have to worry about keeping their hands on the wheel, they might make like Bon Jovi and lay their hands on each other.
“I am predicting that, once computers are doing the driving, there will be a lot more sex in cars,” said Barrie Kirk, co-founder and executive director of the Canadian Automated Vehicles Centre of Excellence, according to the Toronto Sun.
Once self-driving cars reach full Level 4 autonomy, where human intervention is never required, that shouldn’t be much of a problem. (Well, as long as you spring for some high-quality window tint.) The bigger issue arises with cars that still require their drivers to pay attention, such as modern-day Teslas equipped with Autopilot, or the 2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class.
“[Sex is] one of several things people will do which will inhibit their ability to respond quickly when the computer says to the human, ‘Take over,'” Kirk said. He did not return The Drive‘s request for clarification as to what those other things were, but we assume they were equally naughty.
One possible upside to this potential trend, though: As this Chrysler ad from the 1990s demonstrates, it could encourage automakers to start giving their cars real names again.
