

Cognitively, humans are not good at sitting in a seat just passively observing the functioning of a complex machine - we need physical interaction, visual, kineasthetic, auditory to remain involved, alert and in control - there is no time to assess the situation and make decisions in an emergency when the automation can't handle it or malfunctions and the driver has been asleep, playing games or sitting in the back. Never mind the far more varied and impossible to predict environment of roads. Look at the problems with the Boeing 737 Max. Highly trained commercial pilots subject to regular checks by a training captain have difficulty handling the automation in aircraft that fly within narrow parameters on tightly defined airways and routings - when the automation malfunctions or drops out and hands back "control" (without necessarily telling them) - and in the meantime they've gone to sleep due to boredom - the consequences have often been fatal. My view on "autonomous driving" is that it is a very bad idea.
