TED Talk: Sebastian Thrun on Self-Driving Cars

In a TED Talk I found online today, I heard Sebastian Thrun, the creator of Self-Driving Cars, discuss his motivation for working on creating this new vehicle. Apparently, Thrun’s best friend passed away from a car chrash when he was 18 and since then, Thrun had strived to save a million lives each year. While this goal is far off, Thrun believes that his creation of Self-Driving Cars is a step in the right direction. What Thrun discussed, and what I had never really considered, is how incredibly safe Self-Driving cars are. Without the risk of human error, Self-Driving Cars have the capacity to save over 33,561 lives in the U.S. alone each year. While writing about Self-Driving Cars earlier, I enjoyed how the invention captured my imagination. I reveled in how futuristic the car seemed and how fun it would be to feel like one of the Jetsons. What I never considered is how much good Self-Driving Cars could bring to the world. Despite the negative public responses to this new technology, I feel excited and hopeful after hearing Thrun discuss his vision for the cars.