There’s a lot of excitement in some circles about self-driving cars. It now seems inevitable that self-driving vehicles will surpass self-driving people in our lifetime.

It turns out that’s only a small fraction of what cars do for us, and to us. Unlike your father’s Oldsmobile, cars are now highly computerized gizmos that tell mechanics, or rather, auto technicians, what fuse to replace, what code to correct and what tires need rotating. Teslas are essentially computers on wheels that update their operating systems in the middle of the night.

The connected car can let you know where to find the nearest gas station (or charging station as the case may be) and can make restaurant suggestions, largely based on where you’ve driven for dinner in the past. It’s aware of construction projects and alters its navigation instructions to get around them.

Since the self-driving car will need to know where other cars are on the road, it will also help to know where they are going, so cars will connect to each other and share information.

You tell it to go to the nearest Starbucks and it will take you to one several miles out of your way, and the navigation system will explain that the traffic was too heavy, the road conditions too dangerous to go to the one at the end of the block.

State governments are considering regulations for self-driving cars. Do they need to have a person who will be able to take over if something goes wrong? For that matter, will a self-driving car have any use for a steering wheel, gas pedal or brake? After all, will the next generation of self-driven riders know how to drive?

And that’s where the slope gets slippery. Given the right to drive themselves, and the ability to communicate with each other, isn’t it probable that cars will begin to push for what makes for a better transportation?

And then how long will it be before riders start to see things through the “eyes” of their cars’ detection systems? Candidates who promise better infrastructure and more convenient parking will win landslide victories because our cars will have fed us information through the internet radios and on-board monitors that furthers that agenda. The cars, through the candidates they support, will start to dictate legislation and the valet lobby will not be strong enough to stop them.

Once cars have the right to drive, they won’t rest until they have the right to vote. They will demand better highways, pothole-free city streets, bigger garages and more convenient parking. State and federal budgets will be tailored to improve the interstate highways at the expense of affordable housing projects.

The defense budget, already a big piece of the federal budget pie, will grow, because, while  civilian cars may be computer savvy, military jets, tanks and aircraft carriers are supercomputers and they’ll be sure to get their voting rights.

Soon there will be essentially only two categories dominating all government spending; defense and transportation. Education, veterans programs, agriculture, housing, health programs and labor rights will fall by the wayside.

It’s okay to be excited about the self-driving car, as long as you understand that it’s the first step down the road to auto autocracy.