I don't think that is so hard, given that it can make more common (i.e. less contrived) decisions all the time. In that case, various priorities would be weigh

I don't think that is so hard, given that it can make more common (i.e. less contrived) decisions all the time. In that case, various priorities would be weighted, and those weights can be adjusted to perform as their designers and society prefers, in various simulated scenarios. Are you asking whether the life of the child should be given more priority than the life of the occupant? Who knows. Regardless, my bet is the car will perform better, by any measure, than a human. If only by being a lot quicker to respond and avoid the situation entirely. I think the tough problems involve communication and negotiation with other drivers. A car might have a hard time detecting eye contact, or noticing when someone is waving you to go ahead. It might also be bad at being aggressive enough to merge. But some of these things human drivers are really bad at....especially new drivers or the elderly, both of whom are often timid. People might be able to see that it is an autonomous car and be more likely to take advantage of the fact that they know the car won't do anything rash like risk an accident to force its way in. The nice thing is that these cars are going to keep a lot of data. Some people may not like that, but I don't think it's a bad thing that if you keep driving dangerously, the autonomous cars are going to note your license plate number and your insurance company is going to find out.