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Heed warnings from Wolmar on robotaxis | Brief letters

Driverless cabs | Able-bodied and disabled | George, Stourbridge’s station cat | Marina Abramović show | Nominative determinism

In assessing the merits of driverless taxis (Driverless taxis from Waymo will be on London’s roads next year, US firm announces, 15 October), passengers should consider the cautions presented in Christian Wolmar’s book Driverless Cars: On a Road to Nowhere. Adherence to Isaac Asimov’s first law of robotics (“A robot may not injure a human being”) requires the taxi to stop if a person steps in front of it. Highway robbery or worse may be facilitated.
Prof Clive Coen
King’s College London

• Your article (Parliamentary staff of colour earn £2,000 less than white colleagues, study suggests, 12 October) says that disabled employees earn £646 less a year “than able-bodied colleagues”. Disabilities come in many forms, not all physical. Some of us are able‑bodied and disabled.
Sara L Uckelman
Durham

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