- ‘Autonomous driving will offer a safer and more reliable driving experience,’ said Wei Dong, vice-president and COO of Baidu’s intelligent driving division
- The remarks were apparently aimed at soothing consumers’ concerns about safety following a fatal crash in August which involved the use of a driver assistant system
Baidu, China’s dominant search engine and artificial intelligence company, has mounted a rigorous defence of autonomous driving, pledging it will eventually be safer than conventional driving.
Wei Dong, vice-president and chief operations officer of Baidu’s intelligent driving division, said that self-driving cars will eventually be safer than vehicles with people behind the wheel.
“Autonomous driving will offer a safer and more reliable driving experience than human drivers,” he told a forum on future mobility in Shanghai on Saturday. “Still the tech cannot ensure that no accidents will occur.”