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Dwelling on the future of driverless cars has become somethingof a cottage industry among technology and automotive gurus.

Everything from when the vehicles could finally be available forconsumers to the insurance implications have steered the nationalconversation in lively directions. What we know, at this point inthe evolution, is that it's going to take much more research andtesting before autonomous vehicles are seen as safe enough tosatisfy transportation officials and attract a mass-market.

Google, Tesla Motors and some of the traditional automakers arebusy with their own prototypes and routinely talk about how fasteverything is progressing. Sergey Brin, Google's co-founder,recently predicted, perhaps optimistically, that his company couldunveil a commercial vehicle as early as 2017. Mercedes-Benz hasmentioned 2020 as a more realistic date. Tesla's Elon Musk has thetarget even further out, around 2023, according to newsreports.

The carinsurance impact could be enormous if such vehicles meanmuch fewer accidents. As insurers balance their actuarial tables toreflect a drop in liability costs, analysts say they'd likely haveto pass savings to policyholders. And who could be held responsiblefor any problems caused by self-driving cars? Manufacturers —including those behind the complex technology at the core of thesebold new machines — would probably become, at least in part, thefocus of lawsuits.

But all this is speculation. And some of the speculation headsin very interesting directions. Here are a few of the more dramaticpredictions of what could happen in a world brimming with robotcars.

1. They may be used for terrorism and helpcriminals

Some researchers, including IHS Automotive, have warned that thetechnology of autonomous vehicles could be hacked by criminals tooverride safety features. Most alarming was a report in theGuardian detailing how the FBI fears terrorists might try to hijackthe cars and use them as weapons.

In the report, which was based on unclassified but restricteddocuments, the Guardian said the FBI worries that terrorists couldfill a vehicle with explosives and guide it toward a target.“Autonomy … will make mobility more efficient, but will also openup greater possibilities for dual-use applications and ways for acar to be more of a potential lethal weapon than it is today,”according to an assessment attributed to agents working in theFBI's Strategic Issues Group.

Beyond terrorism, everyday criminals would have more freedom toshoot at police pursuers if they didn't have to navigate getawayvehicles, the report noted.

On the plus side, the FBI believes these vehicles could lowerthe high number of accidents in which first responders areinvolved. “The risk that distraction or poor judgment leading tocollision that stems from manual operation would be substantiallyreduced,” according to the report.

Further, the bureau suggests that tailing suspects should beimproved with driverless cop cars. “Surveillance will be made moreeffective and easier, with less of a chance that a patrol car willlose sight of a target vehicle,” the report states.

2. They may bankrupt cop budgets

Police departments across the country, especially smaller ones,often depend on the income they gather from ticketing motorists. Infact, about 41 million people a year are hit with speeding tickets,with more than $6.2 billion in fines, according to statisticsgathered by the U.S. Highway Patrol.

But if self-driving cars don't make highway mistakes —developers expect them to be able to eventually detect stop lights,speed limits and other road warnings — then tickets for running redlights and going too fast could become obsolete. It's unclear howthis could fully affect law enforcement, but there have beenvarious reports over the years linking a department's budget toticket revenue.

In a well-publicized case last year, a local television newsstation reported that Atlanta officials tied pay raises for policeto the amount of ticket income officers could generate. Cityofficials denied the claims.

3. Glitches may turn them into zombie cars

There's always the chance that a glitch in the vehicle's complexsensors could lead to accidents, deaths and other problems. Amalfunctioning robot car could end up lurching down a highwayaimlessly or, worse, plow into another vehicle or pedestrians.

James Anderson, a senior behavioral scientist at the non-profitRand Corporation, said in a recent study that manufacturers willneed to design systems that recognize when a sensor is nottransmitting correct information or no information at all. Besideseliminating bugs – not easy to do — fail-safes will have to be inplace to prevent disasters, he added.

4. People will trick them out to be hotel suites onwheels

The Rand report also poses that once the fatigue of driving iserased from the equation, people may opt to travel farther – andwith all the comforts of home. “Autonomous cars may shift users'preferences toward larger vehicles to permit other activities,”says the report. “In theory, this could even include beds, showers,kitchens or offices.”

5. Kiss car romance goodbye – no one will lovethem

Americans have always put their cars on pedestals, admiring andpampering them. But if robot cars are mass-produced under strictperformance and design guidelines, each one looking just like thenext, then where's the lyricism, the romance?

Automotive analysts have long pointed out that many car loversfind one or a few models to obsess over, with their infatuationgrowing stronger over the years. Would they be so devoted todriverless vehicles that are more likely to be as anonymous as theyare autonomous? Jason Siemens, a southern California collector ofolder Ford Mustangs who frequently exhibits them at local carshows, just laughs at the notion.

“I love Mustangs because they have character and history and arevery fun to drive,” he says. “The way you describe one of these(autonomous) cars, they just sound boring. I like that they may besafer, but I have absolutely no interest in them.”

6. They will kill the classic road tripgenre

The fabled “road trip” may also lose its special appeal whenfriends who usually share time behind the wheel are expected tobecome passive passengers in a driverless universe. Jack Kerouac's“On the Road” doesn't sound as charismatic re-imagined as “In theBackseat,” suggests the Rand report.

“The lures of the open road are very different if no driver isnecessary. For example, the frenetic power of Jack Kerouac's “Onthe Road“ depends, in part, on the epic cross-countrydrives that it chronicles. The book may lose some of its emotionalpower if driving becomes a rarity, pursued only by the eccentric orpoor.”

7. People won't own cars anymore

Some industry watchers believe autonomous cars will provide anew model of transportation that will give people little incentiveto own their own vehicle. “Under this 'Uber' like scenario, thesame autonomous vehicle could be called upon for the morningcommute by a number of individuals with laddered arrivals, whilethe vehicle could remain 'on duty' for errands during the day asneeded by others,” says Vincent DeAugustino in his Keefe, Bruyette& Woods analyst report.

Benefits of this futuristic model include more car-pooling, lesstraffic and emissions. “In our view, these are great societalbenefits if Americans can stomach a new definition of car ownershipand the freedom it affords,” writes DeAugustino. “Urban Millennialsare displaying some willingness to migrate away from this culturalAmerican hallmark, so there's some viability to this thesis, whichwould significantly reduce the role of personal autoinsurance.”

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