Joshua Brown was just one of the more than 37,000 people who died in car crashes in the US last year—but his death continues to make headlines. Brown became the first person killed by an autonomous vehicle when his Tesla Model S collided with a truck while in Autopilot mode, and his crash launched a debate about the risks and rewards of allowing self-driving cars on the road.
People are freaked out about sharing roads with self-driving cars, particularly when those cars crash (never mind the distinct possibility that they can be hacked). But according to new research from the RAND Corporation’s Science, Technology, and Policy program, waiting for self-driving cars to achieve perfection before allowing them on public roads will lead to more overall fatalities in the long run.
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