Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

it's a perfect chain of self-destruction

public thinks technology and computers are "magic" and perfect self-driving cars are somehow easily possible, not having a clue about the extensive limitations of radar and other sensors vs software

managers think they'll just fix the code by pushing a new update later, so just get it out the door because someone higher up is breathing down their neck

government forces their agencies to work with minimal budgets so testing is too basic, never updated and never re-reviewed, maybe even corrupted by lobbyists to do self-regulation without oversight

victims often won't be the drivers who early-adopted or abuse the technology out of ignorance, laziness or greed but instead innocent pedestrians, cyclists, or other drives in regular vehicles doing nothing wrong

when the victims sue, juries will be made to easily believe technology can't be wrong and it was human error by either the victim or the driver

remember toyota spaghetti code for electronic fly-by-wire steering and brakes? sadly I think it's going to take some lawyers with billion dollar class-action suits to get all this to slow down

beta testing 2-10 ton vehicles moving fast in the realworld with plenty of possible victims demands space-grade-level testing (and even then plenty of rockets blow up on the launch pad or never make it to orbit)

meanwhile I hope independents like consumer-reports come up with an ever-improving test site of obstacles and events for these cars to deal with and that they are very thorough and harsh about the tests every year



> sadly I think it's going to take some lawyers with billion dollar class-action suits to get all this to slow down

That will come in short order.

Uber was lucky that the person they killed was homeless and not a politician's son or daughter.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: