2013-10-23

Hal 9000 will turn 16 soon, will he drive?

Something silly just occurred to me...

In "2001: A Space Odyssey", the ship was run by a computer called HAL 9000.  HAL, they said, was "born" in 1997, January 12th to be precise.   Yes, I'm one of those geeks that celebrates HAL's birthday.  So, HAL's 16th birthday is coming up.  Time to get a drivers license?

Yes, a fictitious computer in an old film that really has nothing to do with driving, except for the minor fact that autonomous cars are on the prowl.  Those cars, or rather their computer drivers, are pretty much at the "time to get a driver's license" stage, coincidentally.

Yes, it's not really a drivers license but rather the long, slow process of changing laws to deal with silly things like cars that drive themselves.  But, semantics aside, it really is time for HAL (or his cousins) to hit the road.  Somehow, even considering HAL's villain status, I find that more comforting than the idea of the kid down the street getting his license.  After all, I remember what I did on the road back when I was 16.