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\F2\CSTANFORD ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE LABORATORY
\CDEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
\CSTANFORD UNIVERSITY
\CSTANFORD, CALIFORNIA 94305
\F0





						

							16 October 1974

Dr. Barry Commoner
Washington University
St. Louis, Missouri
63130

Dear Professor Commoner:

\J	I am organizing a symposium on the Future of Cars for
the AAAS meeting in January, and I am still short one speaker for the
session on the long term future.  This session at present has three
speakers: I will talk about computer control of cars and also argue
that the benefits of cars are such that they will be the main American
mode of transportation for the indefinite future; Jack Irwin of
Aerospace Corp. will talk about a Personal Rapid Transit" system
his company is developing; and Joseph Coates of OTA will make a long term
"Technology Assessment".  I feel the need to have the
negative point of view represented, i.e. the view that the
automobile was a mistake or anyway must be given up.
I have made a real effort but have
been unable to find anyone willing to come to New York and speak
for half an hour expressing it.

	Is this or something like it your view or is such a
view to be found in SIPI?  The session is in the afternoon of
January 28.  I tried to telephone you about the time for the
deadline for getting in names but didn't succeed.

	I will be grateful for any help you can give.\.

							Sincerely yours,



							John McCarthy
							Director, Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
							Professor of Computer Science

JMC;paw
common.le1[let,jmc]:SU-AI