@ dipole,
Actually, I was just joking. Maybe I watch too much scifi.
I think it's a great idea to develop the technology, however I'm not sure why we need (or why there would ever be viable market for) robot cars and/or robot drivers. Aren't there enough people out of work already?
To comment on a few of your points:
 Quote by dipole
We have machines that operate autonomously all the time ...
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It's one thing to put a plane in the open sky on autopilot for a while, but auto traffic is another thing. Lots of variables.
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... trains are capable of driving themselves ...
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They're on a track.
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... most of the technology and goods you own were probably built or assembled using robots at some stage of their manufacture...
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Doing very limited, repetitive tasks.
Quote by dipole
If machines can offer a real improvement to human transportation by driving on roads autonomously, why is this a bad thing?
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A big if. But assuming that acceptable robot driving technology is someday developed, who's going to be able to afford to buy it? Would it put a certain segment of the population out of work?
Quote by dipole
Is a robot really less trustworthy than some teenager who's texting/blaring music/chatting with friends/and being reckless all at the same time while driving? We allow them to drive, and in fact the number one cause of deaths among young people is car accidents.
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This assumes that robot cars/drivers are going to be implemented on a massive scale wrt individual vehicles.
A simpler solution to the problem of teen driving is to raise the driving age.