U.S. House unanimously approves sweeping self-driving car measure

Those who think UBI and utopia are the future will be mistaken. Sorry, human history doesn't support that conclusion. I do think UBI might apply for welfare recipients. The bottom will rise up, elevating quality of living for the poorest, but even this isn't fundamental. It'll be far from utopia, and still many places on Earth where it doesn't apply. The most capable will keep reaching to extremes, going further than ever in history. Crime and deception will remain. The gap between haves and have nots will persist.

Why do I think this? Because futurists/optimists have always outdone themselves. When machines were created and oil was booming, they predicted a future of prosperity and peace. When flight was invented, they predicted everyone would have a jetpack and fly wherever they went. When nuclear power plants were first being created, they predicted a future of endless energy, something like hte Jetsons with space age apartments rising obnoxiously into the sky. They always over hype, today is not a departure from convention.

On the reverse are pessimists--equally overcooked. In the age of machines (pre-20th century), they foresaw a complacent lazy culture pampered by machines and losing all their skills. With the emergence of atomic energy, they imagined radioactive mutants and nuclear holocaust. The actual future never reached those epic levels of neglect and calamity.

Do I think we can't fail or do exceptionally well? No, but I don't think those're likely outcomes. Extremes grab our attention.

originally posted by: bluesjr

originally posted by: Asktheanimals
How many accidents will these cause and what rate will be considered "acceptable" ?

How about 1/100 of the accidents due to humans? That is an easy target and already surpassed by self-driving technology.

I would think a human driver has a far more vested interest in driving safely than any combination of technology that can be cobbled together for profit.

Lobbyists 1 People 0

Damn the safety standards since it would lower the big profits that are about to be made.

Hope it goes better than the flying Pinto

The flying car has been invented over and over again. The problem is, each iteration has fallen somewhere on the line between amusing failure and outright disaster. Perhaps the most infamous example was the AVE Mizar, a.k.a. the “Flying Pinto,” which killed its inventor on an early voyage.

mentalfloss.com...

Murphy never sleeps

There’s a Whole New Way to Confuse Self-Driving Cars

Car and Driver reports that security researchers at the University of Washington confused autonomous cars into misidentifying road signs, and they did it with simple stickers they made a home computer.

The researchers put stickers on road signs and managed to convince the car’s image-detecting alogorithms that they were seeing, say, a speed limit sign instead of a stop sign. Such misidentification could be disastrous in a real-world driving environment.

www.wired.com...

originally posted by: Asktheanimals

originally posted by: bluesjr

originally posted by: Asktheanimals
How many accidents will these cause and what rate will be considered "acceptable" ?

How about 1/100 of the accidents due to humans? That is an easy target and already surpassed by self-driving technology.

I would think a human driver has a far more vested interest in driving safely than any combination of technology that can be cobbled together for profit.

That's not what I see on the commute everyday. Maybe around 60% drive safely and 40% do stupid things. 10% are down right dangerous to be around at all times. If we can throw profits aside as a separate issue and focus on safety only, the proof is right in front of us everyday. Just look at how many traffic deaths happen per year with all those safety conscious (sarc) humans.

I don't expect to see a self-driving car weaving around everybody else at high speed and tailgating a few feet behind someone on the freeway so they can go 90mph.

Take the bus or train instead. Unless you own a car yourself I would trust anyone.

a reply to: Asktheanimals

One day in that future, suing them will become obsolete much like suing Monsanto has.

a reply to: loam

How long until the Government mandates that people must pay for road time ya think??

When cars drive themselves and you can't take over control I imagine you'll have to purchase access time for everywhere you plan on going. You want to go to work and come home by car, pay a fee for a time slot when you car will take you.

Wanna go to the store or to a friends house?? Gotta pay for road time.

No more free mobility where you can just go where you want when you want.

I'd prefer they work on flying cars.

I'm not handing over the responsibility of driving my car to software.

originally posted by: ericendtimes
a reply to: loam

I have wondered who would be at fault if there was an accident between two such vehicles? Or if one malfunctions and hits a pedestrian on a crosswalk.

Sorry if someone already said it but so funny and one of my Swedish ATS friends can correct what get wrong but as far as self PARKING Volvos, they came with a sensor that blocked the car from hitting things. However, the people sensor came as an extra at an upcharge so people opted out. So to avoid backing into a mailbox the car would choose to just roll over a person.I think like three people got seriously hurt before they threw that in included with all cars.

a reply to: AlexandrosTheGreat

They could also create killer cars built by covert psyops, military for gang/ mafia warfare.

originally posted by: NerdGoddess
Cool let's do it! Yeah new things can be dangerous, but there's always those who will willingly or forcefully make sacrifices for the future and for our continued hunger for knowledge and power of our own universe.

I can see a lot of benefits to self driving cars. Certainly some draw backs as well but this is exciting none the less.

Brave New World indeed.

What would some examples of drawbacks?

originally posted by: Alien Abduct

originally posted by: NerdGoddess
Cool let's do it! Yeah new things can be dangerous, but there's always those who will willingly or forcefully make sacrifices for the future and for our continued hunger for knowledge and power of our own universe.

I can see a lot of benefits to self driving cars. Certainly some draw backs as well but this is exciting none the less.

Brave New World indeed.

What would some examples of drawbacks?

Well the main thing that I though was, technology is far from perfect. Especially early models of "smart" cars. Will they be released as "beta" versions in a sense or will they be "100 percent, bug free"

I know cars can already be hacked, and so I worry about the self driving cars. It would be easier to make an attack look like a true accident.

I worry that the self driving abilities will fail for someone, and cost them or someone else, their lives.

I wonder what the speeds would be, distance between vehicles, and how traffic would look, if it would be any different from today.

I worry about the cost, and how this will affect public transportation. Will they be cheaper, will they be more expensive?

If I can think of anything else I'll edit this comment.

-Alee

a reply to: Alien Abduct

Hacked car(s)? Imagine the carnage that could ensue.

I'll take my chances among the great unwashed. I don't trust humans that think, why the Hell should I trust machines that think, supposedly, built by other machines, programmed by humans?

Brave New world, indeed.

originally posted by: imitator
I would guess Amazon will soon be in the trucking business, and all delivery drivers will be replaced, Pizza Hut, UPS, ice cream man etc. "Hey kids, here comes the ice cream truck!" They'll all be replaced like the Milkman.

The milkman was diddling your wife. he had to go.