Re: "Fall Creators Update"
The more pertinent question should be: if it detected an unknown object that may or may not have been going into its path of travel, why didn't it slow down (unless it was already going much faster than the 39 mph it was doing when it hit)?
If a human driver saw something in the road that they couldn't identify, ignored it, didn't slow down and then hit that something after it turned out to be a person at 39 mph, and killed them, they'd quite possibly be facing a charge of causing death by careless driving.
Hazard perception is a major component of the dirving theory test, and one of the most important skills when driving. Humans aren't actually that great at it, hence the need for driving lessons beyond those required to learn how to control a vehicle, and it's the sort of thing a computer should be better equipped to deal with.
As I said, at the very least, you'd expect the response to an unidentified hazard to be to slow down until it has been better evaluated. If that results in a self-driving car erratically braking, then this suggests that the hazard identification technology isn't yet good enough, and shouldn't be on the road, not that the brakes should be disabled...
I'm sorry to tell you, Mr Uber, but on this occasion, you have not passed your driving test.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
