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by fmpwizard 2840 days ago
If we look at humans as a counter, sure, apply all the stats you'd like, but I don't think we should do that when it comes to self driving cars. if we simplify the driving risks, we have: 1. driver kills him/herself 2. driver kills person outside his/her car

* Humans and computers can make mistakes on both.

But, my wife and I can teach our kid everything we have learned over the years, to prevent 1, and try to reduce 2. I consider ourselves better than average drivers, if I get my kid a self driving car that is not as good as us, I won't care that it drives better than my neighbor or someone in California.

And in a tragic scenario, it's one thing to say, my kid made a fatal mistake vs, some random QA didn't do a good job and now my family is minus 1

2 comments

Everyone thinks they are good drivers, yet hundreds of thousands of people are dying every year because of these "good drivers." Not sure what makes you think that teaching your kid what you know will make them a better driver than software that will continue to be iterated on and improved based on millions and millions of miles of data (more data than you and your wife could ever pass along to your child). Also not sure why you think your own driving will be better than self-driving cars.
Exactly. People used to think computers will never beat humans in chess, clinging to all sorts of romantic notions such as that inherently human understanding was required for high-level play.

And now my phone can beat the world champion.

If you care about traffic safety and take steps to be a safer driver (minimize distractions, pay attention, don't drive while under the influence of drugs, including alcohol) then you are almost certainly not a significant part of the problem. The problem is other drivers, whom you have no control over, and who can ruin your life at any moment with sheer carelessness and with few consequences.