Fed Says A Computer Is Now A Qualified Driver Under Law - Do You Agree?

Certainly no less qualified than a lot of actual, licensed drivers out there, for what it's worth.

While it is interesting - to the best of MY knowledge - Drivers Licenses are issued by the States - not by the Federal Government. So while the federal government may define the artificial intelligence as a "driver" - it is still up to the individual states to decide who is licensed. CARB in California has said that a separate licensed driver must also be present. The eliminates taxis without drivers - since fares may not have licenses,

This is going to open a huge NEW layer of Motor Vehicle law - and insurance is going to be a question mark. Big Question - who is responsible if the intelligent system has a BUG in it that causes a problem. THe auto makers are sure going to try to keep liabilty for such problems with the BUYER of the car - or IE - not them.

Cars already have a crap ton of software in them. And it CAN go bust. And if it does, it can lead to issues. When it does, I expect the auto manufacturer who chose to put the software in to deal with the fallout.

Cars are putting in loads of semi-autonomous stuff already. How are they preparing to deal with those systems failing? Just a load of CYA style disclaimers? Hmm.

If we are talking about totally autonomous cars, let's say Google makes one and it has some AI driving it and it does something bad and Google gets sued. These cars will have loads of telemetry to tell you exactly what happened, as far as whose fault it was etc. If it wasn't the passenger messing with the car to make it misbehave, then Google has to settle the suit. I expect Google will have its own insurance for this, kind of like how doctors have insurance to deal with malpractice suits.

It's an interesting thing to think about, but I don't know if it's a theoretical showstopper at all.

So if an accident happens is the driver held accountable, or the owner of the car, regardless of the driver?

If the law, or insurance say the car's owner is held accountable, then I recommend the owner be extremely selective in who they allow to operate the vehicle.

or the auto company that owns the software is responsible ?

FYI, when I said "the driver," with respect to autonomous cars, I meant the "computer driver", and the company responsible for it.

Probably just as insurance works today, they'll bet on the odds. The odds of a computer malfunction or weather disruption causing an accident. Premiums may increase as the odds of accidents decrease but the insurance companies will have this stuff well figured out before this billion dollar technology hits the streets.

while they're at it, Google/Alphabet should sell car insurance for its autonomous cars too

"Johnny Cab" from Total Recall eventually will replace Uber/Lyft.

When was the last time you believed anything hussein obamma said?

A big piece of foam drifts into your lane suddenly. What does software do?

Slam on the brakes.

Even if you are being tailgated by a dump truck.