Google computers are allowed to get driver's licenses

“Driver ID J039532 'Joe', a set of self-learning algorithms, has the right to simultaneously manage several cars from its data center, which is located at the 'Home' point”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has allowed Google computers (Alphabet) to qualify as drivers under federal law. The decision was made on February 4, 2016, the document was published yesterday on the official NHTSA website .

The published document is a letter from NHTSA General Counsel Paul Hemmersbauch (Paul Hemmersbaugh) in response to a request dated November 12, 2015, where Google offered to design a car that “does not need a driver”

"NHSTA will interpret the concept of" driver "in the context of the described vehicle design as referring to a self-propelled system, and not to any of the passengers of the vehicle," the letter said. “We agree with Google that its self-propelled car will not have a“ driver ”in the traditional sense in which cars have had drivers for more than a hundred years.”
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Now in the US, active work is underway to create rules and legislation for autopilot, because many cars are already ready to automatically pass part of the route or the whole route without human help. California proposed a draft of the rules, requiring the driver to be in the cabin with a certificate. Not everyone agrees with this requirement. In any case, there are still a lot of legal nuances. On the other hand, if NHSTA expressed its readiness to recognize an AI as an equivalent alternative to a person with a driver's license, then California's proposal also applies to AI - the computer program will be a “driver with a license”.

Perhaps the program will first need to pass a standard test for obtaining rights. In Russia, these are theoretical and practical exams with driving around the city.

There are open questions about the need to equip unmanned vehicles with controls such as the steering wheel, brake pedal, rear-view mirror and other elements designed for human anatomy. So far this is necessary according to NHSTA standard car safety requirements.

In a letter dated November 12, 2015, Google expressed the opinion that equipping a car with such elements threatens safety, because a person can take control and get into an accident.

Such mandatory elements as the tire pressure gauge indicator on the dashboard are also not needed by the computer. NHSTA has promised to change the rules within 6 months. Changing federal laws may take several years.