Google and the self-driving delusion

Make no mistake: Flying is safer as a result of computerization, but the accidents that do occur come almost exclusively during those increasingly rare moments when a pilot’s hands are on the controls.

So here’s an irony: Even as the cable news continues to dwell on AirAsia, its other fascination of the week has been the Las Vegas consumer electronics show, which increasingly has become the “self-driving car show.”

This year Audi announced its presence by sending journalists on Monday to drive the 550 miles from Silicon Valley to Las Vegas in an experimental A7 sedan equipped with what the German car maker calls its “piloted driving” technology.