Perhaps during the transition we would have automated-car lanes, like we have carpool lanes today.
Google Will Become an AI Company
91–100 of 168 posts
Re: Google Will Become an AI Company
#92Not only will children be traveling by robotic car without the need for parent or bus driver, so will that quart of milk you need from the store, that dry cleaning and your grandmother.
Oh, and cab fare from the airport will cost less than the tolls. In fact, cabs will be so cheap and numerous that most people won't bother owning a car for anything other than recreational purposes.
Re: Google Will Become an AI Company
#93Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's a little strange, because another trend directly competing with automatic cars is telecommunications. If it were possible and culturally acceptable for all white-collar workers to telecommute full-time, all of a sudden there would be half as many cars on the streets. If there were efficient, cost-effective, and prompt delivery systems for local goods like groceries, there would be half as many again. It's concei…
"If there were efficient, cost-effective, and prompt delivery systems for local goods like groceries" Wouldn't trucks work? It sounds crazy at first, but I suspect one truck making the rounds every day, like the postman, would still be more energy efficient than hundreds of cars going back and forth to the supermarket?
Sure, that's more or less what I was thinking; UPS or FedEx, but local. Obviously, that would save a lot of time and energy. It's non-trivial, though, since the stores would suddenly need EDI systems that could communicate orders and shipments and statuses to these delivery guys. Big chains do this sort of thing all the time, but some local businesses would probably have a hard time making this suddenly happen out of the blue.
Re: Google Will Become an AI Company
#94Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wonder if Microsoft is running that service for the same reason or simply because Google had a 411 a product Microsoft thought they needed one too.
I'm pretty sure it's the latter. Microsoft's MO lately has been to rip off anything that makes their primary competitors unique, so they can go on being a one-stop shop in any industry they believe themselves to be a part of. And since Google is both a big competitor and lacking any central concept to its business, Microsoft will pretty much rip off anything they do.
yet, microsoft has deployed voice recognition to some hundred millions users over time, so they could have copied that idea to improve something they were already selling.
Re: Google Will Become an AI Company
#95Earlier quoted context omitted.
They're going by the name "3-D printer" right now, but the overall idea is a home fabrication machine capable of producing complex 3-D goods (including moving parts, electronics, etc) on demand. Current 3-D printing is an extremely crude version of the eventual device. So if you wanted a new microwave, go online and download the design. Then go to the Christmas Tree machine and have it print one up for you. Just like…
Ah, I gotcha, thanks. I've only ever heard those called "3D printers". Google only turned up either artificial tree makers or logging equipment. The Make magazine follows CTM/3DP stuff pretty closely: http://blog.makezine.com/
It's the latest name. Don Lancaster's been calling them Santa Claus machines for about 15 years now...
Re: Google Will Become an AI Company
#96Has Google had any successes with AI other than its search heuristic? (which I hesitate to classify as AI)
Re: Google Will Become an AI Company
#97Did no one stop to think about this? It is extremely far-fetched at best. >safety regulations could be greatly relaxed. No, at least not if the author's vision of 200mph average speeds is to be taken. When a mistake or malfunction happens at that speed, safety mechanisms will be imperative. Furthermore, having a mechanical car does not prevent: someone else running into you, a deer running in front of the car, etc. >…
do you see parents sticking their 6 year olds on the subway just because they can? Maybe not 6, but certainly 8 year olds are quite capable of using public transport and happily do so in many parts of the world. I know I was taking the bus to the library when I was 8 or 9 and the train into town when I was 10, and that wasn't strange in the slightest.
There's also a big difference between asking a child to navigate public transport and putting them in a trusted taxi to school, which is all an automated car is. If the trusted taxi is cheap enough, you'd only have to be confident that the child wouldn't hurt themselves en route.
Re: Google Will Become an AI Company
#98Did no one stop to think about this? It is extremely far-fetched at best. >safety regulations could be greatly relaxed. No, at least not if the author's vision of 200mph average speeds is to be taken. When a mistake or malfunction happens at that speed, safety mechanisms will be imperative. Furthermore, having a mechanical car does not prevent: someone else running into you, a deer running in front of the car, etc. >…
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Re: Google Will Become an AI Company
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
For many people, whatever nice benefits of density there are (and I'm struggling to think of more than one or two... choice of places to go for fun, maybe?) seem offset by the harms of density, which are manifold. However, lower commute time is something nearly everyone wants, even if it's currently only 10 minutes, so it's an easy point to make.
high density is sustainable, probably, whereas low density is probably not. how is that for a benefit? and don't discount how highly "fun" ranks in peoples' lives.
Low density is ultimately unsustainable, but not for a long time. The USA is a big country with mostly open space; it'll be a while before we fill it up.
Re: Google Will Become an AI Company
#100Has Google had any successes with AI other than its search heuristic? (which I hesitate to classify as AI)
The gmail spam filter lives in a similar realm.