"But driver assistance features increasingly are playing a role, suggesting AI is being employed to fix a problem created by automation. Radar-enhanced cruise control and lane keeping technology that maintain set distance between vehicles or alert a driver to drift often are sold as safety features, but they can make drivers less attentive, saidBryant Walker Smith, a law professor at University of South Carolina who researches liability issues associated with autonomous vehicles.
“We are replacing one set of risks and creating a whole new set of risks,” Mr. Smith said.
Consumers, technologists, and auto industry executives likely will wrestle for a long time with the trade-offs between safety, convenience and privacy. The University of South Carolina’s Mr. Walker Smith said: “The hope is that, on average, we end up with a safer environment.”"