If you told me three to four years ago when I started this company that in 2020 there would be no autonomous regulations across the state and federal level, I would have been surprised. — Qasar Younis
On April 22, Ironclad held its first virtual Rooftop Law School on the regulatory and ethical challenges of autonomous vehicles with Applied Intuition, a startup providing simulation software and infrastructure to test autonomous systems.
Our panelists included:
- Qasar Younis, CEO at Applied Intuition, and most recently the COO at Y Combinator. Before his current role Qasar had founded another startup that was acquired by Google Maps and also worked as an automotive engineer at GM and Bosch.
- Matthew Colford is currently a JD/MBA candidate at Stanford, where he is a Knight-Hennessy Scholar. Prior to that, he was General Manager and Head of Policy at Applied Intuition.
- Antonio Perez is a legal engineer at Ironclad. Previously, he was a transactional attorney based in New York City, where he advised governments, banks, and other institutional lenders on leases and purchase agreements involving global transportation assets.
- James Honsa is a legal engineering manager at Ironclad. Previously he was at Dropbox, a customer of Ironclad as a Senior Analyst on the Commercial Legal Team.
Hear what the panel discussed regarding various jurisdictions and how companies are approaching the ethics of autonomous driving. Watch our on-demand video.
- Ethical Issues Around Autonomous Vehicles (AV) – 6:08
- Testing AV Sub-decisions – 11:43
- Past Case Law and AV Jurisdictions – 20:56
- Issues Framing the AV Discussion – 24:33
- Federal Government Should Own Jurisdiction Over Autonomy – 28:01
- Case Law and Product Liability – 32:05
- Regulatory Structure to Improve Safety – 40:10
- How to Counter Bias in Technology – 43:20
- How to Achieve National Safety Clearance – 48:24
- Future of AV – 53:44
There’s zero case law around autonomous vehicles, specifically around the liability issues that exist. There’s plenty of case law around automotive product liability. — Matthew Colford
What is Rooftop Law School?
Designed for lawyers and non-lawyers, Rooftop Law School is an Ironclad tradition where we nerd out on legal issues of the day over beer and pizza. If you’re passionate about a particular piece of case law or legislative issue and would like to lead a future session, please email us at community@ironcladapp.com.
Ironclad is not a law firm, and this post does not constitute or contain legal advice. To evaluate the accuracy, sufficiency, or reliability of the ideas and guidance reflected here, or the applicability of these materials to your business, you should consult with a licensed attorney. Use of and access to any of the resources contained within Ironclad’s site do not create an attorney-client relationship between the user and Ironclad.
