I very much understand the point of your article, you’ve reiterated it over and over in response to my challenges. You’re critical of these computer systems, I understand that. And not merely skeptical, but committed to the idea that these systems will never be as safe as a human driver.

What you haven’t done is explain what you have other than your gut reactions to base your judgement on. You believe a computer cannot handle a dynamic situation. I claim that a computer is much better suited to handle dynamic situations than a human. My arguments to back this up are that a computer can collect more data, more rapidly than a human, and they are non-emotional, singularly tasked, and less biased. Do you have any actual arguments to the contrary, or are you going to just tell me again what you believe?

You trained the test drivers; that would have been useful information when establishing yourself as a credible authority. Did these drivers walk you through the capabilities and imitations of the system? Do you have any background in computing to be able to critically evaluate the possibilities of these systems?

You claim I’m putting all my faith in these computers, but you’re putting all of your faith in human drivers. I still get behind the wheel and drive, or get into the passenger seat with other human drivers, so clearly I still have some faith in human drivers. You, on the other hand, aren’t allowing any room for the possibility that a computer would make a good driver. You’re fostering a culture of fear with nothing to back it up except stories about how good of a driver you are and vague, uncited, and uninformed declarations about a computer’s abilities.

There are very real issues with autonomous vehicles; they are not ready for widespread deployment. Some of those issues are technological and will inevitably be resolved in the coming years as computers and sensors become more powerful and as the people who develop these systems learn from their extensive research and experimentation. Some of the issues are legislative, and will be worked out by politicians, lawyers, judges, and other interested parties. But most of the issues are cultural: fear of change, fear of the unknown, fear of technology, fear of living in a society that doesn’t look exactly like the one you’re used to. It would be a shame if those fears prevented or prolonged the eventual adoption of technology that will save lives.