When Self-Driving Cars Become Paralyzed, It’s Not Good

Dr. Lance Eliot, AI Insider

[Ed. Note: For reader’s interested in Dr. Eliot’s ongoing business analyses about the advent of self-driving cars, see his online Forbes column: https://forbes.com/sites/lanceeliot/]

I was in the woods with my family one day and it was getting towards nightfall.

We came upon a wolf, standing in the path ahead of us, staring straight at us, poised for action.

It seemed like an eternity as we stopped in our tracks and stared back at the wolf.

Nobody moved.

You could say we were all paralyzed.

Of course, we weren’t paralyzed in the sense that our limbs were not able to function.

If you are uncomfortable that I use the word paralysis, which I realize many believe should only be used when you are truly physically debilitated, I can use instead the word pseudo-paralysis if that’s more palatable to you.

Suppose we do this, for the rest of this discussion, whenever you see me use the word paralysis, substitute instead the word pseudo-paralysis.

Hope that’s OK with you all.

In a moment, you’ll grasp why I’ve discussed the topic of paralysis and led you to a juncture of considering…