Nobody is perfect, not even artificial intelligences created at the table: or maybe yes, but only algorithmically speaking and not in real life.
Because the "cause" of the first traffic accident caused by the Google Self-driving car it is precisely this: the behavior of the car face to face with the unexpected has been corrected if we consider the management algorithm ma unpredictable if you take into account the real scenario with which this happened.
First of all, There were no injuries. Secondly, we clarify that this is not the first accident for self-driving cars, but the first "caused" by one of them in autonomous driving mode - therefore, in practice, by an artificial intelligence.
And now, the dynamics: according to the report, the collision happened since the Google Lexus she found some sandbags on her way to protect an open manhole, she stopped and ha tried to get into the middle lane. The driver aboard the Lexus, who was not in control - entrusted to autopilot - of the vehicle, thought that thebus that occupied the middle lane it would have stopped - or at least slowed down - for allow the change to the Lexus, as well as the algorithm itself, so it has not taken over manual control.
This did not happen, the bus did not stop or slow down but the Google Lexus tried to get into the lane anyway, so three seconds later there was an impact between the side of the car and that of the bus.
A classic road accident that could be avoided both if the bus slowed down and if the Google Car stopped and waited for it to pass; according to the highway code, the bus was under no obligation to change its gear - therefore, in fact, the accident was caused by the non-stopping of the Lexus.
Moral of the story: a an accident that would not have happened either if there had been human control on both sides or if both sides had been on autopilot - the Lexus' entry attempt would have been seen as an obstacle from the bus, which the control algorithm would have automatically blocked.
This is therefore the demonstration that the coexistence between autopilot and human pilot is by no means synonymous with perfection nor of absolute safety.
At least not yet.
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