[danso]

A "million" people do not die in the U.S. every year from driving. Not even close:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_vehicle_fatality_rate_in...

Not that 37,000+ is a great number, but I don't think many of the detractors here are arguing that Uber et. al have a perfect record. Just that it's possible that progress is being made in a more reckless way than necessary. Just because space flight is inherently difficult and risky and ambitious doesn't mean we don't investigate the possibly preventable factors behind the Challenger disaster.

edit: You seem to be referencing the worldwide estimate. Fair, but we're not even close to having self-driven cars in the most afflicted countries. Nevermind AI, we're not even close to having clean potable water worldwide, and diarrhea-related deaths outnumber road accident deaths according to WHO: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs310/en/

[tim333]

Yeah but the tech will spread there fairly soon after it's established in the US. In places like Africa the most common cars are not some African brand, they seem to mostly be Toyotas, who will probably implement self driving when it's proven.

[portofcall]

For what value of “soon after” is very expensive automation going to reach Africa, India, and other places in numbers sufficient to put a dent in those fatalities? The slow march of other tech, safety included, suggests decades. Meanwhile the safety gains of automation are so far hypothetical, amd until they’re well demonstrated, potentially a distant pipe dream. Nothing about ML/AI today suggests a near-future of ultra-safe cars.