But really we do this all the time. when a new 16 year old gets behind the wheel they are empirically more likely to kill some random person.... but we let them do it without anyone's consent.

Each time we produce a new aircraft there is a real risk that folks will die from it.

We do all sorts of crazy stuff with foods, and there is pretty good evidence that our diet is killing us in HUGE numbers. those choices are made on a profit motive.

perhaps you see all of those things as immoral?

I am not at all sure what kind of world we would have if none of that were allowed. it would have to be done by force as in our present world everyone is driven by personal and / or corporate self interest.

to be clear, I don't think self driving cars are really being developed for a higher purpose.... its for convenience and for the money. sure.

so why does this rate so low on my give-a-care list?

I am just saying that the negatives of a few dead really pales in comparison to the MILLIONS dead from our other choices.

Heart disease kills 50% of all Americans, yet that disease is nearly entirely man-made as tribes that never eat our processed foods basically have very near zero percent rates of heart disease. ... and most folks are not making an informed choice on this.

we should focus on stuff that is killing at least thousands or tens of thousands per year. better focus and perhaps those would change