“I only saw the tail-end of the crash, and the dazed Google employees sitting around afterwards waiting for their tow-truck,” a witness told 9to5Google regarding a crash involving a self-driving Google car in Mountain View, Calif. “From what I could see, it was the van’s fault entirely.”

Companies are often expected to look at the best way to get work done, whether for example by using agency temporary workers, statement-of-work consultants, directly hired workers or, in some cases, event robots. Self-driving cars are an example of automation taking over some human tasks. And Uber has already deployed self-driving cars in Pittsburgh with humans to take control, if necessary, although passengers must sign legal waivers, according to one report.