Robotic Nation Evidence

Robo VW cars may be emerging as a form of artificial life.
 

What makes you think so, mindmaker?
 

I don't know about it emerging as a "form" of artificial life, at least until there are enough "intelligent" sensor-laden vehicles to communicate and form a hive mind... but, these advances could lead to the replacement of cab drivers, UPS/FedEx drivers, long-haul truckers, etc. If I were in one of those catagories, I'd be looking for another job soon.
 

I don't know about it emerging as a "form" of artificial life, at least until there are enough "intelligent" sensor-laden vehicles to communicate and form a hive mind... but, these advances could lead to the replacement of cab drivers, UPS/FedEx drivers, long-haul truckers, etc. If I were in one of those catagories, I'd be looking for another job soon.
 

And that's something worth double-posting! ;)
 

Pay no attention to mindmaker. He is a well known spammer:
http://www.nothingisreal.com/mentifex_faq.html
 

"UPS/FedEx drivers"
They're still necessary to lug the parcels to the recipient. So the job would be deskilled, not eliminated.
 

Package deliver could also be learned by a delivery vehicle, perhaps similar in design to the Packbot.
 

Mr. Perry, how do you get the $12 an hour figure (dividing cost of robot and electricity over lifetime)?
While the technology is probably available between now and 5 years from now, I don't see widespread deployment until 2015. The parts of the car in this story will not hit showrooms for a few years.

I think people tend to overestimate the (initial) cost savings of robots - they will probably be more expensive than human labor for at least their first few years.