February
04
Tags
Self-Driving Cars: My Article in Texas Lawyer
Look out – two posts in one month! How do I even live at this speed??
In a bit of exciting news, I recently had another automotive article published in Texas Lawyer. Remember the one I did a few months back on the GM recall? Well, the new one is about the legal questions surrounding self-driving cars. You can read my ponderings here: Texas Lawyer. Please note that I refrained from grousing, although I wanted to.
Tiny grouse: here is a BMW Puggle in the wild. Ugh, amirite?
Make “green” sexy and sporty, and perhaps I will give such cars the time of day. (By the way, I will NEVER find a self-driving car sexy or sporty. EVER.)
MOTORista 
What. Is. That. Thing. ?
Excellent article (Texas Lawyer). As a software programmer responsible for ensuring that airplanes go where they are supposed to, safely and efficiently, it is a particular concern of mine that these the legal aspects of software-controlled automobiles are also handled properly. The amount of automation/autonomy in automobiles is approaching that of the flight management systems on aircraft, and the complexity of the software increases the opportunity for error. The FAA holds aircraft system manufacturers (e.g. Boeing, GE Aviation) to very stringent rules regarding the writing and verification of requirements which govern the operation of software in those situations, which explains (partially) the extremely long development cycles (and the expense). It would seem logical that a similar government entity would oversee the development of the automobile software AI to ensure the same safety & control goals are met.
Excellent point, Rob! I will mention that in the podcast I will be on in a few weeks on this topic. 😉
Great article, Motorista!