HN user
Big win for public health. I'm sure the others won't be far behind.
In this same vein, go read the first sentence of the Wikipedia article on smallpox for a jolt of pride in human progress. "Smallpox WAS an infectious disease..."
Maybe, but on the other hand it appeals to the darker curiosity of being able to see the bad things people say about you, not just the good.
I definitely agree with this, but how could you specifically change the laws in this case such that they are still, by some measure, "fair" and "just"? Most people would probably agree that there is no reason to adhere to the letter of driving laws all the time. Speeding on an empty highway to get somewhere more quickly is mostly harmless. Running a red light in a dangerous neighborhood might be safer than waiting. To the point of the "real" laws, such violations are probably most often prosecuted when they result in danger to the driver or others. You could certainly generalize these examples from driving to a variety of other laws.
I guess the question is, you can beat the drum about this, but to what tune? What's the answer? How could a self-driving car decide when it is okay to break traffic rules without a certain level of human discretion? How could the laws be re-written such that the effect is the same?
Side projects are probably much more advantageous if you get to talk about them in an actual interview. I suspect they don't matter to much on resumes because of the issues others have brought up here