[Boudica]

As long as steering goes the way it currently stands manual input should always be an option. Even some advanced self-driving cars still use "rack and pinion" steering gears which have just been electronically assisted or controlled. Because there is still a manual input that functions even when the car is off, I imagine the same will apply to future completely self driving cars for at least a good deal of time.

Going the other way though there is actually a great deal of DIY self driving platforms, most notably George Hotz (geohot)'s Comma.ai. It used the lane keep, emergency brake, and cruise control features of some newer model Toyotas and Hondas (with other makes too those just being the most fully implemented) along with a Chinese phone from a now defunct company to introduce full self driving.

my concern is not that manual input will not be an option, but rather that the option for self-driving becomes too widely distributed in electric cars to avoid. I know I might sound like I'm nearing Dale Gribble paranoia, but the ability for a car to be remotely shutdown by police is enough to make me never want to buy anything with that kind of tech in it because of where that kind of control can go. If the operant must share control and ownership of their personal property with a state or company, i dont want to trust it on principle.

While I love the concept of full digital and self driving cars, I completely agree on this. I don't wanna any shared control over my car. However, many cars now-a-days have the ability for someone to take full control via the CAN bus. Add on top of that that newer Fords, Mazdas, and many other brands feature Vehicle Control over LTE where your keyfob/remote is supplemented by an app on your phone which works anywhere. One flaw in the security and that becomes millions of vehicles that can be started or unlocked without the owners permission, and that is all without trying to push the service further for shutdown or the like, that is just intended functionality by an unintended party.

Omg THIS. I cannot fathom why anyone would want car/house/etc functionality controlled by their mobile phones. People can't even protect their personal photos from being leaked, let alone preventing something really serious.