I have coined a new term to describe why I don’t think self-driving cars are technologically feasible or desirable to any safe, long-time,high performance independent driver who seeks personal autonomy and freedom to travel at will to anywhere they desire. That term is: Technological Hubris. It comes my observation that most scientists and new engineers are from a decidedly left wing philosophical bent. They think as a part of their philosophy that people and technology are perfectible.
I have lived in northern Michigan for just shy of forty years, and can say with the utmost confidence that engineers can’t program a vehicle to anticipate the unpredictability of other people, vehicles, or even animals. One time. on my way to Boyne City from Charlevoix, a doe leapt clear over the hood of my girlfriends Corvette, to only leave a mere superficial scratch on the paint of the left fender. How do you program a vehicle with it’s numerous sensors that will compute that uncertainty/unpredictability factor into an inanimate autonomous vehicle?
To establish a little credibility in my discussing the possible future of self-driving autonomous vehicles, let me say that I’ve been a marine mechanic and an automotive restoration specialist for over 35 years. I’ve built and restored numerous vehicles and some boats, and I can’t imagine surrendering my control or possible life to some egg-head like Elon Musk, who thinks we may be living in a computer-generated virtual world.