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I think regulatory hurdles will be introduced by politicians not due to safety concerns, but based on jobs. The conversation will switch from "immigrants are st

I think regulatory hurdles will be introduced by politicians not due to safety concerns, but based on jobs. The conversation will switch from "immigrants are stealing our jobs!" to "robots are stealing our jobs!"

JoshTriplett 11y ago
Two can play at the propaganda game. "Human drivers cause X% more deaths on the road; can your family risk having humans at the wheel?"
- protomyth 11y ago
  Technology companies have been remarkably bad at playing the propaganda game. We, as an industry, have done such a bad job of security that trusting the computer to drive you is going to be a powerful problem to overcome. "You've replaced your credit card because of a computer security failure, now think about that when getting into your computer controlled car. Can your family risk having a hacker at the wheel?"
  - toomuchtodo 11y ago
    Except for people who have no choice (the elderly, whom have no one else to transport them and can no longer drive themselves, or people who have gotten DUIs ironically enough).
    - protomyth 11y ago
      Well, we do elderly transport in our neck of the woods (not sure about the urban folks). People currently sometimes have no options, but those groups probably won't overcome the regulatory wall that will show up. Plus, the truck driver is one of the most common jobs in almost every state, and it is a job that cannot be outsourced. Its going to be a rather large hit to the economy. I would imagine which side a politician would come down on. I will think it might become an issue when I see a Google Car in North Dakota in the winter. Until then, I'm not sure the technology for a national roll-out is really there.
      - joshfraser 11y ago
        Self-driving trucks are also a thing
        protomyth 11y ago
        I know that. That's why I mentioned it.
- rhino369 11y ago
  One probalem is that driverless cars don't have to be better than humans. They have to be better than human drivers with computer assist. Or at least cheap enough to jsutify the extra carnage.
protomyth 11y ago
Truck driver is most common job in a goodly number of US states, so its going to be disruptive of a job that is basically impossible to ship overseas.
fma 11y ago
We'll have to see who can bribe, whoops I mean donate, the most money. Self driving cars is being backed by Google, Apple, Tesla, GM, Uber, Lyft...that's a lot of weight to be thrown around.
- enraged_camel 11y ago
  I actually think most of the push will come from transportation/logistics companies, where labor expenses tend to be quite high. Imagine if trucking companies could replace their drivers with self-driving trucks, for example. They would massively increase their profitability.

JoshTriplett 11y ago

Two can play at the propaganda game. "Human drivers cause X% more deaths on the road; can your family risk having humans at the wheel?"

protomyth 11y ago
Technology companies have been remarkably bad at playing the propaganda game. We, as an industry, have done such a bad job of security that trusting the computer to drive you is going to be a powerful problem to overcome. "You've replaced your credit card because of a computer security failure, now think about that when getting into your computer controlled car. Can your family risk having a hacker at the wheel?"
- toomuchtodo 11y ago
  Except for people who have no choice (the elderly, whom have no one else to transport them and can no longer drive themselves, or people who have gotten DUIs ironically enough).
  - protomyth 11y ago
    Well, we do elderly transport in our neck of the woods (not sure about the urban folks). People currently sometimes have no options, but those groups probably won't overcome the regulatory wall that will show up. Plus, the truck driver is one of the most common jobs in almost every state, and it is a job that cannot be outsourced. Its going to be a rather large hit to the economy. I would imagine which side a politician would come down on. I will think it might become an issue when I see a Google Car in North Dakota in the winter. Until then, I'm not sure the technology for a national roll-out is really there.
    - joshfraser 11y ago
      Self-driving trucks are also a thing
      - protomyth 11y ago
        I know that. That's why I mentioned it.
rhino369 11y ago
One probalem is that driverless cars don't have to be better than humans. They have to be better than human drivers with computer assist. Or at least cheap enough to jsutify the extra carnage.

protomyth 11y ago

Truck driver is most common job in a goodly number of US states, so its going to be disruptive of a job that is basically impossible to ship overseas.

fma 11y ago

We'll have to see who can bribe, whoops I mean donate, the most money. Self driving cars is being backed by Google, Apple, Tesla, GM, Uber, Lyft...that's a lot of weight to be thrown around.

enraged_camel 11y ago
I actually think most of the push will come from transportation/logistics companies, where labor expenses tend to be quite high. Imagine if trucking companies could replace their drivers with self-driving trucks, for example. They would massively increase their profitability.