An internal FBI report obtained by The Guardian says that self-driving cars have the potential to be used as "lethal weapons" in the future.
The report, written by the Strategic Issues Group of the FBI's Directorate of Intelligence, warned that self-driving cars "will have a high impact on transforming what both law enforcement and its adversaries can operationally do with a car." In other words: There could soon be self-driving car bombs.
The report also suggests there may soon be autonomous getaway cars for criminals, though the FBI also claims that self-driving cars will make tailing suspects much easier.
"Autonomy... will make mobility more efficient, but will also open up greater possibilities for dual-use applications and ways for a car to be more of a potential lethal weapon than it is today," the report states.
Of course, this is the opposite of the message Google wants to send about its driverless vehicles. FBI report does note, however, that the risk of "distraction or poor judgment leading to collision" would be "substantially reduced" with driverless vehicles.
It's possible that self-driving cars could be approved for public use in as few as five years.