Gadget Lab Podcast: The Very Human Element of Self-Driving Cars

One of the greatest ironies in this still-nascent era of self-driving cars is that humans are the backup safety drivers for these autonomous systems, while the systems themselves are supposed to replace human drivers and all our follies. Earlier this week, a preliminary report from the NTSB indicated that the Uber self-driving car that killed a woman in Arizona earlier this year, did in fact "see" the woman in the seconds before the crash occurred. Transportation writer Aarian Marshall and editor Alex Davies join the Gadget Lab podcast this week to discuss the issues that surround "software that's not yet ready to replace humans, and humans that are ill-equipped to keep their would-be replacements from doing harm." And of course, we couldn't have a conversation about the future of transportation without talking about Elon Musk. Also, Alex writes about the follies of humans act as backup safety drivers, while Aarian lays out California's heavy-handed plans to regulate autonomous vehicles.