Google claimed that they were going to make a vehicle that will drive itself, and while many thought this idea was impossible, Google has made this futuristic dream a reality. Google successfully made a self-driving car that’s aware of its surroundings, and we might see them on the roads as early as 2020. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has declared that Google’s self-driving vehicles can be considered a driver. In order for Google’s cars to be seen as compliant with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, all they had to do was change the position of the brake pedal and sensors, after which the vehicles were declared “safe enough.”

While this might seem of little consequence, it’s actually a huge step forward for the development of artificial intelligence. Of course, with such a huge push, there will be complications; in this case, I'll talk about accident liability. If a driverless vehicle were to be involved in an accident, who’s to blame? You can’t sue a vehicle, unless you want to go directly to the manufacturer and claim that it’s their fault for producing a faulty product. Unfortunately, the manufacturer could simply blame the user for failing to set the device up properly. Also, would insurance companies require new coverage to accommodate the presence of automated vehicles on the roads? These questions aren’t easily answered, so liability will likely remain a major issue for any autonomous vehicles. Since a driverless car doesn’t have anyone behind the wheel, it’s difficult to place the blame on any one entity in particular.

The future is around the corner, however the future has come with problems that require answers. Will this new brand of technology change the way people travel, or will it just be another piece of useless technology that society cannot handle?