Versions of the trolley argument have been discussed for decades - witness how the war in the Pacific was 'won'.
No easy answer.

There will certainly be broad interests at play...

If the mob stages it just right, they can get the car behind them to run their guy over for them…the perfect crime. ☺

“Hey young Joey…I hear you’s into this thing they call…uh…aaallgorithms…yeah…is that so, good.”

I'll forecast more innocent deaths from driverless cars.
They cannot take in the information that a human can.
We all scan the road over various lengths and widths.
We also can take extra care in advance when you see a child with a ball etc.

The lady crossing the road with her bicycle recently would not have been struck by a normal driver.
The "passenger" in that vehicle should have been charged with negligence.

The terminator movies involved that sort of thinking. It turned self aware and destroyed humans to protect us from ourselves.
How would the law see it , if you pushed someone of the bridge, it would be murder, if you pulled the lever you would be a hero, except for the one guy's family. Then again, would a fat guy stop a train?
JD

Don't need to write an algorithm to solve that one ;)

Guys, you can't stop the progression of things.
Like a big 850cfm Holley vs. fuel injection....
Condoms vs birth control pills....
Even we the generation that loves 8 cylinder high horsepower Cobra's, etc. are being replaced by turbo charged high reving 4 cylinder imports.... with Nitrous injection for good measure....
Woody Allan had it all figured out in the movie "Sleeper"..... Just hope the Orgasmatrom is not invented and becomes popular in our lifetime...... :JEKYLHYDE

Just because I can't "stop the progression of things" doesn't mean that I want to ride that bus. I don't even like automatic transmissions, not one, zero, nada. Maybe I'm entering my rebellious older age.

I do believe that the legal & ethical quandaries of the technology will be real interesting.

Jim

Glen,

When you said "Rubber has a degree of memory, but it doesn't have any intelligence" were you talking about the silicon bim bows with implants? LOL.

As a friend of mine said several years ago related to the stupid things people do with cell phones behind the wheel, "if they die by themselves- its just thinning of the herd". I don't know how many times I have seen pedestrians step out in front of cars in the city while texting on their cell phones! I do believe the operating IQ drops 50 points for anyone on the things- including me (oops- I think I am now negative on the scale). And when they drive, the focus is anywhere but outside the windshield.

Growing up learning to drive on cars from the 40's & 50'S, you always were thinking about the possibility that just because you stepped on the brakes does not mean they will work and what was going to be your next option to stop!

But actually, I would not mind, as I am aging now, I might like having the future option of a car to drive me for the more mundane trips or in big cities (I have lived in LA, SF, Chicago and now Boston- home of the Massholes). I just don't like the idea of it all being mandated to protect the stupid! Drove to Rockport ME yesterday and loved the wonderful 2 lane roads along the coast! would be a shame to not be able to self drive it!

I spent 45 years in technology industry, from Aerospace to medical and software. It was always only as good as the "loose nut" on the end of the design and the operator who was always trying to make it do something it was not designed to do!

Thom

As a Civil Engineer who has advanced degrees in Highway Safety... Design and Management..... and someone who has taught defensive driving.... I have absolutely no doubt that computers will be much safer and more efficient drivers than people...... saving lives, money and energy.

I have investigated dozens of accidents and nearly 100% of them were caused by impaired or distracted drivers who were often driving faster than conditions would allow.

We have millions of drivers that cannot even grasp the simple concept of only using the left lane to pass.. :confused: