California Proposes Rules For Autonomous Cars

Having the car make driving decisions is a different realm than manufacturing defects. We have seen some software problems with various cars already, and as the software gets more complex, I would expect to see that magnified. Look at the aerospace industry for examples (e.g. F-22, Airbus).

Weather conditions as well. Black ice is one hell of a thing.

With roads and poor signage the citizens tend to "optimize" the Government (vote them out) if they fail to do a reasonable job on those issues given how much tax they swallow up on them. And with manufacturing defects the common law provides remedies and puts the worst offenders out of business (along with a free press providing consumer reviews for the milder cases). I'm not some foaming at the mouth libertarian but let's not pretend Government is the one that's responsible for common sense things (just look at the efforts Ford went through to get people to wear seatbelts, or SAAB's safety obsession that arguably put them out of business).

If you still don't believe me go compare the "optimization" of your local DMV and the Google labs where these autonomous cars are being created and see if you walk aways with any illusions of Government grandeur.

Ugh, as a driver I'd prefer not to have all my actions recorded regardless of whether it's beneficial to me. This reeks of invasion of my privacy and possibly opens me up to prosecution if the camera were subpoenaed in a criminal proceeding for something unrelated to the car's function. Same reason I don't leave a GPS trail everywhere by choice.

There is a difference in complexity though. Most systems developed by the Automotive companies are just a step above highway lane keeping, and adaptive cruse control. Google's system handles city roads with pedestrians and more complex traffic patterns.

There is a cost to that of course, Google's system uses $100k of sensors, and isn't well integrated into the body of a car. This means it's father off from being seen a in a production car. I could see it being sold as an aftermarket add on to specific cars, maybe even only to business customers, who then want to sell the service and automated car can provide.

Thanks a lot. I wish there was a higher density of cars. Also different teams => different systems.. that might introduce good jitter to avoid systemic locks. Anyhow it feels pretty safe.. can't wait to see it becomes standard.

[EDIT] Again, I really don't understand why I'd be downvoted for asking a legitimate question like this. It's rather disconcerting. While it's great to think about a future in which this technology is safe and widely available, it seems to me I'm being attacked for simply asking basic security questions that I would ask about any large system that was going through trials prior to mass rollout. And rather than hearing any specific answers, I'm just being attacked and voted down. I think anyone who's spent time in IT would probably ask these things first before they deployed a new system in their company office, so I don't think it's unreasonable to ask them about about a potentially game-changing social innovation.[/EDIT]

That's true. But blowing up a diesel truck is hard to do remotely, and requires someone to actively attack at a specific place and time.

I'm not sure why I got downrated for my post; I'm just asking, doesn't this create a lot of security holes and attack vectors that need to be studied before allowing it? I mean, I haven't heard anything about security, at all. The focus seems to be on a safe driving experience, but where's the white paper on counter-hacking measures? Can you imagine if Google launched Gmail without any kind of plan to mitigate stolen passwords or hijacked accounts? As it is, there are plenty of people who do have their accounts hijacked. Luckily, that doesn't lead to collisions and deaths.

Consider for a moment how many people run Windows and IE, with the latest security updates, who are still vulnerable to zero day exploits. Consider how many don't update their software and get swept up in botnets a few days later. Now imagine each and every compromised PC has physical control over 2-3 tons of rolling aluminum and steel, that can go anywhere on a public highway, with human beings inside it.

An attacker who had taken control over a botnet of compromised autonomous carscould drive swarms of them wherever they wanted by remote control.

Now, rather than downvote me, tell me what security protocols will be in place to prevent the scenarios I've outlined.

For the first time in history, a large portion of adult lives will hinge on the unhackability of consumer gear.