????開著一輛自動駕駛汽車是什么感覺？是不是將你的小命交給電腦，讓它指引汽車在高速公路上以每小時70英里的速度行駛？

????你遲早會體會到這種感覺，也許5年內還不行，但15年內絕對可以。上了高速，你只要按下一個按鈕，汽車就會開啟自動駕駛模式，你可以玩一會兒手機，甚至睡上一覺。

????2015年的第一個星期，在一段從硅谷前往拉斯維加斯，長達560英里的旅程中，我體驗了一番這種感覺。作為代表《財富》的記者，我榮幸地成為率先體驗一款技術先進的自動駕駛汽車的五名記者之一。

????除去特殊的涂裝和車身上的“奧迪自動駕駛”字樣，這輛奧迪A7看起來與同型號的其它車輛沒有任何區別。最奇妙的是，我很快就習慣了它在高速公速上替我做決定。

????目前，市面上所有主流汽車廠商都在爭先恐后地開發首款完全自動駕駛的汽車。在有些廠家的宣傳詞里，好像不久之后“汽車人”就能自動替你去買菜了。別相信他們。不論是在技術層面還是法律層面，我們離那個目標都非常遙遠。你10歲的孩子六年后還是得考駕照，除非你打算讓他們20多歲時還要通過Uber來叫車載他們去商場。

????不過，德國大眾集團旗下的奧迪公司想要證明他們已經在這個領域領先了一步，于是邀請我去試駕一款據說具備了“第三級”自動駕駛技術的轎車（這些等級的定義見本文附注）。這趟旅行的起點是門洛帕克市的一家酒店。在我的想象中，我以為只需要在導航系統里輸入“拉斯維加斯”，按一個“走你”的按鈕，車子就會載著我飛奔，然后我就可以用Kindle電子書悠閑地看《1984》了。

????事實上并沒有這么簡單。這臺原型車只能在非常特定的情形下才能實現自動駕駛。基本條件是：1、它只能在標志明顯的高速公路上才能實現自動駕駛，而且必須是白天，天氣狀況必須良好；2、駕駛員必須始終坐在駕駛座上，隨時準備在緊急條件下立即轉到手動駕駛模式（所以打盹是不可能了）；3、只有上了高速，司機才能開啟自動駕駛，在車子下高速之前，司機就要重新接管汽車。

????奧迪的工程師表示，他們已經利用自動駕駛技術，在美國的公共道路上行駛了50,000多英里。但在本次旅途中，他們也不敢怠慢，而且已經沿這條向東南方經由巴克斯菲爾德的公路行駛了六次。這次車里依然始終坐著兩名德國工程師。坐在后面的這位架著一臺筆記本電腦，不停地檢查各種數據。坐在副駕駛的那位始終謹慎地觀察前方道路。比較尷尬的是，他的腳底下也有一套油門和剎車踏板。

????車子的后備箱里裝滿了臺式電腦的部件，一大團數據線把它們與汽車聯接在一起。這一幕看著也有點尷尬，但內飾基本上完全正常。

????我應該強調一下，我是A型血。多年的賽道訓練和緊急操作練習也沒有治好我的強迫癥。你可能認為你是個很好的司機，但我很可能不這么認為。我喜歡坐在駕駛座上——如果開車的不是我，我寧可不坐這輛車。所以你可能會認為我的控制欲過強。

????另外，雖然我喜歡高科技，但我并不真心信任它。電腦還經常崩潰呢，或是被黑、中毒什么的，我自己的蘋果電腦也經常死機。我真的準備好把寶貴的生命托付給機器人了嗎？難道看了《終結者》系列電影后，我們什么教訓都沒學到嗎？

????所以當我們沿5號公路來到加州一個小鎮，換我坐到駕駛座上時，我還是非常高興的。這輛原型車骨子里還是一臺量產的奧迪A7，它是一款令人愛不釋手、非常性感的溜背轎跑，動力充沛，懸掛也很出色。

????What’s it like to drive a car that drives itself? To give a computer full control of your destiny, on the highway, at 70 miles an hour?

????It will happen to you, maybe not in five years, but definitely within 15. You’ll be on the highway and hit a button and the car will take over, navigating through slow traffic and allowing you to tap away at your cell phone or even take a short nap.

????Well, I’ve experienced it already, in the very first week of 2015, on a 560-mile road trip from Silicon Valley to Las Vegas. On behalf of Fortune, I was one of five journalists to experience an autonomous car at this advanced level.

????The car was an Audi A7 that looked exactly like any other, if you discounted the special paint job and the words “Audi Piloted Driving” on the sides. The oddest part was just how quickly I got used to the car making decisions for me at highway speeds.

????All the major automakers are in a race to develop the first fully autonomous car, and if you listen to some of the companies it sounds as if a robotic chauffeur will be taking over grocery-getting duties any day now. Don’t believe them. Neither the technology nor the laws governing it are anywhere near that point. Your 10-year-old will still need his or her driving license in six years unless you plan to pay for Uber rides to the mall well into their 20s.

????Nonetheless, Volkswagen Group-owned Audi was out to prove that it was ahead of the curve, and invited me to test drive a prototype sedan capable of “level three” autonomous technology (see accompanying story for definitions of those levels). The trip began from a hotel in Menlo Park, and I had visions of inputting “Las Vegas” into the navigation system, hitting the “go” button and kicking back with 1984 on my Kindle as the car whisked me away.

????Not so much. This special prototype can only pilot itself in very specific situations. The basic criteria: 1) It drives itself only on well-marked freeways during the day and in favorable weather conditions; 2) A driver has to be in the seat at all times and ready to take back control immediately in an emergency situation (so no napping); 3) The driver gives up control while already on the freeway and takes it back before it’s time to exit.

????Audi engineers says they have done more than 50,000 miles of testing on public roads in America using this self-driving technology. But on this trip they weren’t leaving much to chance. They had run the long, southeastern route through Bakersfield at least six times previously. There were two German engineers in the car at all times. The one in the back had a laptop and was constantly screening data. The fellow in the right-hand seat paid keen attention to the road ahead. Disconcertingly, he also had his own gas and brake pedals.

????The trunk of the car was filled with components from desktop computers, with a hydra of cords interconnecting them to the car. Also a bit disconcerting. But the interior looked almost entirely normal.

????It’s at this point that I should mention that I’m an A-type driver. Years of training on the racetrack and practicing emergency maneuvers have not helped matters. You may think you’re a great driver. I would likely disagree. I love to be in the driver’s seat—and if I’m not, I’d just prefer to be outside the car. So yes, you might say I’ve got control issues.

????And while I like technology, I don’t really trust it. Computers crash all the time. They can be hacked and compromised and my Apple computer too often suffers that spinning ball of death. Was I really ready to turn over my life to a robotic overlord? Have we learned nothing from the Terminator movies?

????So I was happy enough to be in control as we motored through a small California town in the prototype Audi, making our way toward Interstate 5. The prototype was in most regards still a stock A7, a sexy, swoop-backed sedan that I really love. It has lots of pep and a great suspension.