Perhaps, but there's a big difference between not trusting machines and not trusting them to be perfect. If people don't trust machines, it's because they're surrounded by machines that break and malfunction constantly, systems that don't work, networks that fail - and autonomous cars implies a level of faith in all of that working flawlessly most of the time in spite of demonstrable reality.
While I object to autonomous cars mostly because they remove human autonomy and implicitly limit freedom (as a tradeoff for safety and greater efficiency), I think it would be a bad idea in any case to come to the point where having a steering wheel isn't even an option.
> If people don't trust machines, it's because they're surrounded by machines that break and malfunction constantly, systems that don't work, networks that fail - and autonomous cars implies a level of faith in all of that working flawlessly most of the time in spite of demonstrable reality.
People are falling to a very common bias. They see machines that break and malfunction constantly because those are the only ones noticable. They don't see many more machines working flawlessly, even though their very lives depend on them. Auto-pilots on planes, HVAC automation, gas delivery automation, lifts, food processing machines, electric grid, the Internet - all of this works almost perfectly, but we notice only occasional hickups and failures. The demonstrable reality is that most of the time things really do work flawlessly.
Still, it doesn't matter. People need to understand that it doesn't matter if the machine isn't perfect. What matters is if it is better than human. And for self-driving cars, outperforming human drivers isn't a distant goal.
> While I object to autonomous cars mostly because they remove human autonomy and implicitly limit freedom (as a tradeoff for safety and greater efficiency), I think it would be a bad idea in any case to come to the point where having a steering wheel isn't even an option.
Well, but that's the exact point of having self-driving cars. Because humans should not have the "freedom" of driving around on public roads and killing each other all the time. Or, in other words, as a proponent of self-driving cars I want to be able to exercise my freedom of not getting killed by myself or another driver, because human reflexes and cognitive skills are not up to par with the requirements of driving a motor vehicle.
Public roads are infrastructure, its goal is to let people move from point A to point B. The requirement that people do the moving themselves is only there because we didn't have self-driving cars then, and cars are more flexible than trains. Sure, let's drive all we want on private property. Have our freedom. But the infrastructure works better when humans don't mess with it.
You make a good point, but I wonder if autonomous car proponents aren't falling for the same bias in regard to human drivers.
It may be the case that self-driving cars are safe. However most of the time, most human drivers don't kill each other all the time, and the majority of driving events are uneventful. It is a risky activity but it's certainly not the bloodsport some make it out to be.
You're right. Of course majority of driving is uneventful and the activity is not a bloodbath. Your average driver isn't a speed maniac or someone who loses control of the vehicle three times a day (though an average driver I meet has a bit, let's say, relaxed approach wrt. speed limits and safe driving distance).
But because driving is something that a great many people have to do, often many times a day, it still sums up to a significant death toll worldwide. It's a statistical thing, not emotional one (no one is honestly impressed by traffic accident these days; bomb on a plane on the other hand...). By introducing self-driving cars we can significantly reduce if not outright eliminate those millions of unneccessary deaths while also improving energy usage and efficiency of transportation as a whole. In other words, no traffic jams, you get quicker everywhere and the world as a whole uses less energy to move people around.
While I object to autonomous cars mostly because they remove human autonomy and implicitly limit freedom (as a tradeoff for safety and greater efficiency), I think it would be a bad idea in any case to come to the point where having a steering wheel isn't even an option.