My intention was in no way to underplay or diminish the achievement of Auto Pilot but to simply make the point that: In this video, of this event Auto Pilot adds nothing. In this case the driver was "alert and competent". This video does NOT showcase or demonstrate Auto Pilot preventing an accident, reacting faster or better than a human.
That is my point. People seem to be extolling how Auto Pilot saved that day in this video. It didn't.
And yes, I would say that the autopilot reacted faster than a competent human driver not expecting a crash while watching a 30 second clip. Probably by time measured in seconds.
I do agree safe following distance made the auto-breaking pretty irrelevant in this specific case as there was plenty of time for a human to react. But it's still impressive to see things working, and a bit of positive public PR hype over this tech can't be an entirely bad thing.
Imagine if you could be confident that the cars sharing the road with you were all "alert and competent" at all times because they were using a solid autopilot system.
You have highlighted a fundamental misunderstanding people have about Auto Pilot in its current form it is an SAE Level 2[1] driver assistance function.
It is not supposed to be functioning in spite of the driver. The driver is in charge and should be responding to events. It is dangerous to behave otherwise - examples include pretty much all Tesla Auto Pilot attributed fatalities.
[1] Level 2: The driver is obliged to detect objects and events and respond if the automated system fails to respond properly. The automated system executes accelerating, braking, and steering. The automated system can deactivate immediately upon takeover by the driver.
Edit: Formating
I think we'd all agree this isn't magic; the point is that it works in spite of the driver. A "competent driver" is going to be especially alert during an exam, but over the course of countless errands and commutes, their guard could be down, their reflexes may suffer due to lack of sleep, etc.
Autopilot doesn't get tired, and never lets its guard down. That's what matters.