Could it be possible that regulators are moving faster than we think? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has reached a decision that self-driving cars backed by AI systems could be considered "the driver". The NHTSA will also post relevant guidelines within six months! If the car’s computer is the driver for legal purposes, then it clears the way forGoogleor automakers to design systems that communicate directly with the artificial pilot. The fear at this point is that humans will take the car literally into their own hands, trying to control things like steering, acceleration, braking, which could be detrimental as the human will attempt to override the systems' decisions.
| less than a minute read
Google Cars Just Got a Major Boost From U.S. Vehicle Regulators
“NHTSA will interpret ‘driver’ in the context of Google‘s described motor vehicle design as referring to the (self-driving system), and not to any of the vehicle occupants,” NHTSA’s letter said. “We agree with Google its (self-driving car) will not have a ‘driver’ in the traditional sense that vehicles have had drivers during the last more than one hundred years.”
