CNBC: 'I hate them': Locals reportedly frustrated with Alphabet's self-driving cars

[MineralMan]

12. The human brain can be very good at analyzing

road conditions and traffic to avoid accidents and other hazards. It can be, but a lot of people don't do a good job of it. The unique thing about our brains is their analog computation model. We automatically prioritize information to identify the most important bits. Digital computation, being rule-based, does a much poorer job of that prioritization.

What that means for winter driving is that I and other careful drivers get very good at anticipating issues located ahead. For example, as I approach an intersection, I'll have been watching what's happening there long before I arrive. Is there ice at the intersection? Well, if I'm seeing people skidding far ahead of me, I'll know that the answer is yes, and begin compensating for that hazard.

Computers are very good at controlling things in situations that are predictable. They're not so good at unpredictability, which is always present in traffic situations. That's why that self-driving car didn't detect a woman pushing a bicycle across a street between intersections. A human driver can react to unexpected conditions like that and avoid the accident. Not all human drivers will, of course, but they can, if they're paying attention and driving defensively.

I'm not optimistic about the success of self-driving vehicles. As more of them mix with human-controlled vehicles, I think we're going to see a lot of unfortunate situations happen.