Self driving cars are not a problem, they are symptom of a shift our society goes throw from a mechanical one into a digital one. The shift is speeding, as digital systems allow of efficiency, the issue is that this efficiency is not understood by the majority of people and is controlled by very few companies. As those new tools are more efficient, everyone not using them for what ever reason is left behind. As they are efficient, they are convenient to the majority, and so, used everywhere a social/economical pressure to use them is created. It started with PCs, and gave us lock-in of data into proprietary file-types, now we have smartphones the ever spying tracking devices that make people walk into things. While the programability of the smartphone is still being explored, we will get self driving -things-, cars, tracks, chairs, what-ever. On the side you get automation of an ever growing list of jobs, and you can't stop it, efficiency wins, you will get 3d printers, and you you might get the ability to download and print viruses from the internet at some point, it can already be done in a lab with a few million dollars worth of equipment, but bio-science is moving forward so who knows. Prepare for an ever growing list of "smart" crap, phones, cars, TVs, light bulbs, toasters, shoes, if there is profit to be done in putting a CPU inside, it will have a CPU inside. I'm all for computing, hack, bioinformatics will give us DNA testing to fit you with the best medicine, smart cars will result in less death on the roads, and so on. The issue is not with the technology, it's with how it is created and who owns it. Because very, very soon Google is going be controlling a shit load of cars traveling at 80-100[KPH], at their full control, with the ability to literally kill and cripple people everywhere, intentionally, a power which for better or worse used to belong only at the hand of governments, and they were mostly limited by boarders. On the other hand we have FOSS movement that is trying to empower people (somewhat) with computers, but a lot of battles are lost. Sorry for the ramble.