> you will understand that there is a very wide gap in competence between being able to tune a standard motor, and being able to inspect and modify software that controls a car safely
A big part of that is because cars have been around for over a century, and there has been a huge tinkering crowd to learn and teach newcomers to the scene. The software/robotics crowd is maybe only a decade old (ignoring the hacking scene). Why wouldn't we in a hundred years or so be able to write our own car control software? Or more importantly, why shouldn't we?
I also disagree on your stance that open-sourcing it wouldn't improve anything. If anything, open-source has been the driving force behind great procedural advancements in software design: source control, code quality measurements, unit testing, metaprogramming, have all been influenced or driven by large open-source projects. If anything, I think the first thing an open-source movement for car control software would produce is testable code, probably from a greater focus on compiler-enforced design-by-contract languages.
In my mind, the only reason we wouldn't be able to progress to that point is exactly because of these anti-reverse-engineering policies, because of IP protection and litigious manufacturers. I'm firmly with the EFF on their Freedom To Tinker cause, and I think it's perfectly acceptable for the EFF to take this case as an example of why current policies are wrong.
A big part of that is because cars have been around for over a century, and there has been a huge tinkering crowd to learn and teach newcomers to the scene. The software/robotics crowd is maybe only a decade old (ignoring the hacking scene). Why wouldn't we in a hundred years or so be able to write our own car control software? Or more importantly, why shouldn't we?
I also disagree on your stance that open-sourcing it wouldn't improve anything. If anything, open-source has been the driving force behind great procedural advancements in software design: source control, code quality measurements, unit testing, metaprogramming, have all been influenced or driven by large open-source projects. If anything, I think the first thing an open-source movement for car control software would produce is testable code, probably from a greater focus on compiler-enforced design-by-contract languages.
In my mind, the only reason we wouldn't be able to progress to that point is exactly because of these anti-reverse-engineering policies, because of IP protection and litigious manufacturers. I'm firmly with the EFF on their Freedom To Tinker cause, and I think it's perfectly acceptable for the EFF to take this case as an example of why current policies are wrong.