I did have a rental car for a bit during covid, for various reasons, which reminded me of a theory I had about why I was such a self-driving car skeptic: as an occasional driver, it's more apparent to me just how complex driving is. It was definitely the case that after I had the car for a few weeks, my deeply submerged instincts returned and driving became pretty automatic. Ah, this is what it's like for most of you. Quarter of your brain busy with driving, the rest of it contemplating the deep mysteries of life or remembering the lyrics to Stairway as it plays on the radio. Seems easy after a bit!
But it isn't easy, and while potential safety issues are what people focus on, the basic fantasy of "push a button and let my car take me somewhere" is not going to be reality any time soon even if the technology that exists is neato!