My car only goes about 300 miles before it will stop all by itself anyway. If the driver isn't smart enough to find a safe place to pull over, get out, walk around a bit, maybe refill the fuel tank, then pretending the number "5000 miles" is significant is just silly. All that means is that is how often it takes for them (on average I'm guessing) to get stumped by something they haven't learned yet.

My youngest just got a learner's driving permit. In my experience from teaching young new human drivers, it's really not that different. In the beginning they may make several mistakes per mile. Within a few days or maybe even hours they catch on and the rate drops to maybe one error per session of 5-30 miles. Some states require having a permit and accompanying driver for a full year, though I would feel comfortable letting them go on their own in as little as 3 months. (Disclaimer: I learned to drive as a CDL professional and teach that style to my children. It is a wonderful thing watching teenage drivers with the will power to ignore their phones while driving.) It takes lots of practice to become competent and even still we all make mistakes.

Driving a road without markings? Ask a plow driver. The TL;DR version is, you get really good at reading the crown of the road and the ditch contours in fairly slippery and poor visibility conditions. I expect these fancy laser sensors can see in the dark better than I can. If they are just using a webcam, then yeah, I doubt it will end well.

Just a couple weeks ago I was driving a new dirt road that isn't on maps yet. There was quite a steep drop down to the stream below and of course no guardrails. It was a bit too narrow in places, off camber in others, but new so no wash outs yet. Average speed about 20 for me, though the posted limit was 25. Personally I would have posted it 20 or even 15 for the width and limited visibility around hills and curves, but mostly I went slower for the comfort of my aging bones.

Honestly I would be more concerned if the autonomous car didn't stop at the end of the pavement and ask in a little popup window "Are You Sure?" And in true UI-style du-jour, it would have a single "OK" button that you can barely read for the poor contrast and thin font.

Yeah, somehow I never get the chance to ask before they start telling me all about it anyway. ;)

I've noticed the opposite, but only when eating the stuff my brother grows. For the last few years he's been experimenting with no-till, no-fertilizers, yet-not-technically-organic gardening. Getting soil mineral analysis from the state ag uni, and basically spreading around quarry dust in careful amounts, he's been getting wonderfully healthy and tasty veggies.

It has something to do with providing all nutrients rather than just NPK, and allowing the soil bacteria and fungus to go about its life largely undisturbed. The theory is that the plant produces sugars it doesn't actually want from photosynthesis and sends them out into the soil around the roots. At that point the microbiome guys feed on the sugars and break down minerals and form other organic compounds that the plant really wants. Without these trace nutrients you end up with a plant that is disease prone, low yield, and basically just malnourished.

It's really dramatic to see a plot of traditionally grown tomatoes struggling against pests and putting out feeble vines, while 100 feet away on the test plot they are thriving with hardly any attention.

Now this sort of soil care won't be certified organic due the ridiculous paperwork required, but I wouldn't be surprised if healthier food comes from healthier plants. No gene editing required.