Subtitle: I Told You So

Years ago, maybe one or two will remember, I wrote a post about driverless cars. The prediction has come true. I heard it on the news today.

There was a crowd that speculated 60 Teslas had accidents while on Autopilot. They suggest the loss of 60 lives because the computer does not drive as well as a human. Personally, I challenge the concept. Suspect it is likely half and half. Likely a little more one way than the other.

Whichever way, whatever happens, the die is being cast. Those legal eagles, ambulance chasers have smelled blood in the water, and soon the lawsuits will start flying.

Buckle up for a wild ride through the autonomous automotive frontier! While self-driving cars rev my imagination, I can’t help but ponder the ultimate showdown: Silicon Valley’s algorithmic prodigy versus the unpredictable human behind the wheel. Will our robotic chauffeurs outsmart the caffeine-fueled, text-messaging, road-rage-prone human drivers? The jury’s still out, and this technological tango promises to be more suspenseful than a high-stakes game of bumper cars.

Expert witnesses will parade in, each side wielding their technical wizards like legal weapons. The computer’s impeccable security will be interrogated, cross-examined, and dissected with surgical precision. Meanwhile, the lawyers will be grinning from ear to ear, their framed diplomas casting a victorious gleam on the courtroom walls, knowing they’re the only true beneficiaries of this digital drama.

The ambulance chasers will likely win their share, and the defense attorneys will likely win a few. Most will likely be settled out of court. Sometimes the defense will be afraid of losing and set a standard. Sometimes, the prosecutor will settle, afraid to set the standard the other way.

As all the paperwork from all the legal briefs finishes trickling down from above, the losers will be the drivers. The cost of the cars will skyrocket, and naturally, the cost of auto insurance will likely follow.

Sure, a settlement might line a few pockets, but who’s signing up to trade their body parts for a payout? Not this savvy survivor, that’s for sure. I’d rather keep my limbs intact and my bank account untouched.

So, at some point, the computer has to become better than the human. I ask you, do we take the steering wheel out of the hands of humans for the safety of others? On the other hand, do we permit humans to hold onto the wheel in spite of it being more dangerous?

Futurists, brace yourselves: the million-dollar question is lurking just around the corner, ready to pounce when we least expect it. And hey, while we’re at it, we might want to whip up some shiny new laws that are as clever as they are cutting-edge.

Considering laws are made by lawyers for lawyers, I don’t expect to see it in my lifetime.