It is styled assistance "technology" – as for example speed limit assistance technology – which is but one of several kinds of "assistance" already embedded in almost all new cars and most cars made since about five years ago. Other iterations include brake assistance technology and lane keep assistance technology.

But the purpose of all of these "technologies" is not so much to assist as to control you.

The "assist" verbiage is to gull you into accepting being controlled – a little bit at a time – by not understanding that's what's ultimately intended. Until the time has passed to prevent it. Just the same as people were gulled, a century ago, into believing they wouldn't be paying taxes on their incomes.

Only the rich would.

But how, exactly, does this "assistance" work? And how will it work?

Let's start with what's styled "speed limit assistance technology."

It works by continuously keeping track of exactly how fast you're driving at any given time and exactly what the speed limit is at the same time. It works via the GPS "technology" all new vehicles have that is aware of the vehicle's speed as you're driving that is then correlated with data about the road you're driving on; specifically, what the speed limit is on that road. Which it knows because speed limits are part of what's mapped by the GPS.

The two bits of data are compared and if you are driving faster than whatever the speed limit is, the car "assists" you via an icon built into the dash display that looks just like a speed limit sign – the number displayed being the speed limit of the road you're driving on – that shifts from the white background with black lettering of the actual speed limit sign to angry red and flashing, often accompanied by a tone.