Peer-to-peer protocols work just fine, and sure, we could design protocols that are resilient to adversaries (like the various iterations of bittorrent). But c

Peer-to-peer protocols work just fine, and sure, we could design protocols that are resilient to adversaries (like the various iterations of bittorrent). But client-server is so much simpler operationally with respect to NAT traversal and CGNAT and IPv4/IPv6 and latency and other real-world networking and compatibility concerns. So I expect a commercial enterprise building "smart" or "self-driving" cars will instead just go for the tried-and-true thing of cellular modems that phone home to a central server. (Or, SSH servers exposed to the Internet, I guess, like Tesla did: https://twitter.com/atomicthumbs/status/1032939617404645376 https://twitter.com/atomicthumbs/status/1032939617404645376) And if the server shuts down, then the devices become useless (like with so many other smart devices). If you want to get rid of traffic lights, what you want is a dedicated right of way. It can have train tracks, or it can have asphalt (like transitways in Mississauga or Ottawa, or conventional freeways, highways, or tollways).