Google has an interesting conundrum with its driverless cars. It seems that they are too safe. The cars follow traffic instructions exactly but human driver’s don’t. Hence, the cars have been caught in circumstances beyond their software, such as passing through a four-way stop. Public relations would call for driver-less vehicles to drive like the public, even if it means bending traffic rules a little. The cars should act as much as possible as a safe human driver would. It is an irony that the vehicles have been in fender-benders, not because of what they have done but because of what careless drivers have done to them. Google is far along in developing the driver-less auto, but it still has a way to go. The chances are good that it will get there.
Crisis Of Reputation
A company that can’t get its numbers right has a fundamental crisis of reputation. Consider Toshiba. It has delayed its annual results a second time because it continues to find more errors in accounting. One asks what kind of company is it that has to do that. It is clear now that Toshiba had been running for years with jiggered books. This indicates corruption at the highest levels of the company. Indeed, the previous CEO stepped down along with several executives as a result of the errors. That is as it should be. It will take years for Toshiba to win its reputation back, and analysts have a right to be skeptical of bottom-line results. The PR lesson is clear: Don’t mess with the numbers.