If Then

I see in the self-driving car discussions similar things to what I used to see in economics. If you write enough things premised on "what if x" then eventually people start assuming x is true. The big one in economics was always wHaT IF inEQUalITY iS gOOd foR gROWTh??? In self-driving cars it is what if they will be safer one day??? Well, yes, what if. What if they ever work? WHAT IF THEY NEVER WORK????

But Autopilot is unlike almost any other consumer product in history, in ways that offer a preview of the uncomfortable questions we’ll confront in the dawning robot age. Tesla’s flamboyant chief executive officer, Elon Musk, says the technology saves lives, and legions of Tesla owners offer their own testimonies of hazards spotted and collisions avoided. (And they have YouTube videos to prove it.) It’s possible that both sides are right, that the computers are killing a few drivers who otherwise would have lived, but that they’re also saving the lives of many more. In the coming years, society—in particular, regulators and the courts—will have to decide whether that’s an acceptable trade-off.

Can't watch netflix and "drive" without killing a few toddlers. Just progress and science, people. Sorry your kid (not mine) had to be sacrificed for Nerd Trump's wallet, I mean humanity.