Thanks for the link, though depressing to read. (1) So much for driverless cars, I guess. (2) I guess a study is needed when aerospace and rail has, oh, 50+ ye

Thanks for the link, though depressing to read. (1) So much for driverless cars, I guess. (2) I guess a study is needed when aerospace and rail has, oh, 50+ years or so of cumulated data about the problem. MIT or not, these people seem pretty confused about the rules governing safety in automation, and the abstract is just inaccurate. The driving task can be formalized. It has been done before. [2] Maybe it's a boring driver, but it's possible. Part of this formalization requires the safety control functions to be separated from the driving and navigation functions. AFAIK this principle was formulated first by Georges Westinghouse when he patented his air brake system in 1873 [1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Westinghouse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Westinghouse [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_automated_urban_metro_subway_systems https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_automated_urban_metro_...