Google’s driverless cars are now legal in Nevada.
Yes, I know that Google had one of their driverless cars go from S.F. to L.A. on twisty Route 1 along the coast and it performed wonderfully. Further, this technology might well save lives.
But, having thousands of driverless cars speeding around on, say, Los Angeles freeways during rush hour is tempting both Murphy’s Law and the Rule of Unintended Consequences. Because something terrible will eventually go wrong. Yes, it will. And it will be ugly.
This also seems a fine way for governments to track everyone all the time, because all the driverless cars will be communicating with each other and with their mothership at traffic control.
We’re getting closer and closer to Heinlein’s Near Future.
Or Blade Runner.
More concerned for the millions of truck drivers and taxi drivers google hopes to put out of business.
Indeed, if their plan ever actually works, which it probably won’t. One autonomous car being followed by someone who can take control, which is how Google tested it, is far different than hundreds of thousands of them in a city or robo-trucks trying to backup so they can be unloaded.