At the corner of Iris Ave and Folsom in North Boulder, my Model 3 Tesla was self-driving when it showed up two human drivers in the lane just in front of us. All three of us were turning left — two flesh-and-blood drivers and my robot — when the two humans violated a basic traffic rule by swinging wide and turning into the right hand lane. The Tesla hugged the inside lane, as the driver manual indicates is the proper rule of the road. On the other hand, my son is less likely than the Tesla’s software to suddenly disengage and just stop steering altogether (requiring me to take over). Seen through the lens of cognition and neuroscience, the contrast says a lot about the next generation of drivers.

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Persons: Tesla, Milo Locations: Ave, Folsom, North Boulder