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From Wondery, I'm Stephen Johnson, and this is American Innovations.

Countless movies and TV shows and books and other stories have been written about robots.

You know how it usually goes.

In the future, robots that have become an integral part of human life gained sentience.

They become conscious. They get tired of becoming our slaves and suddenly turn on the human race.

Now, typically when we think of robots, we think of humanoid-shaped machines that clean our kitchens or moar lawns.

But our guess today says that we're thinking about the robot revolution all wrong,

and that the more likely mass rollout of robots into our lives will be our cars.

You've likely seen auto companies today tout the benefits of features like hands-free driving.

Major players like Tesla even market technology as a key reason to buy their vehicles.

But while the idea of kicking back and letting the car do all the work as we lounge during our commute or on a long road trip,

it sounds great, but it's far more complicated than any of us have actually thought.

Today, we conclude our series on innovation fails all about the rise and fall of John DeLorean,

with the discussion about the state of driving today.

And in particular, the role that self-driving or autonomous cars will play in our future.

Our guest, Jason Torchinski, is senior editor at chalapnick.com,

an author of the new book, Robot Take the Wheel,

the road to autonomous cars and the lost art of driving. He joins us next.

Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of Wondries Podcast American Scandal.

Our newest series looks at the Kids for Cash Scandal, a story about two judges who stood accused of making millions of dollars in a brazen scheme that shattered the lives of countless children.

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