Anyone else think this thread may be linked to 10-20 years from now when this thing begins to take off?
Nevada passes law authorizing driverless cars
181–190 of 214 posts
Re: Nevada passes law authorizing driverless cars
#182We expect people to be frightened of robotic cars for the same reason they are scared of dying in a plane crash: Some deep-seated fear of dying in a manner that isn’t our own fault. Thoughts: 1) Marketing/PR for autonomous vehicles needs to really drive home their safety, so when you hear “robot car,” you think “… saves lives.” 2) Is it hard to imagine the opposite fear in children born 10 years from now? Having seen…
Unfortunately Google is incredibly bad at sales and marketing so don't expect them to understand that their main challenge will be the public perception of driverless cars.
Google is very good at PR. Their image as being "naive and bad at marketing" might be part of their PR.
http://www.ribbonfarm.com/2010/10/20/coloring-the-whole-egg-...
Re: Nevada passes law authorizing driverless cars
#183Earlier quoted context omitted.
3) Loss of jobs. When we're heading to a future of robotic anything that will replace an entire profession, drivers in this case. What will be the economic effect of it?
I don't know why you're being down-voted, it's a valid question. Computers have eliminated a lot of jobs over the last 30 to 40 years. For example VisiCalc, did a lot of what many tax accountants charged for. It used to be that humans, mostly women, switched (or routed if you will) phone calls. Automation certainly does eliminate many jobs. But interestingly it also seems to make previously impossible things possible…
"But what possibilities will it create? Could cars, or for that matter trucks, become like a subscription? You just subscribe and then if at any point and any where you need a ride, you just dial a number and a few minutes later a dirverless vehicle arrives to take you anywhere."
I've heard of this idea before in the context of driverless cars. The thing is, this service already exists and is known as a "taxi". Since driverless taxis would likely be cheaper to operate, this means another source of job loss.
Re: Nevada passes law authorizing driverless cars
#184I think driverless cars could be the future of public transportation. Instead of big trains and buses with limited reach, we would have thousands of public vehicles that take you where you need to go when you need to be there. It eliminates the big barriers to public transport--the lack of personal space, timing, and reach. No car? Just hop on the municipal/county dispatch website, request a car, pay your fee, and wa…
These are also known as "taxis".
Re: Nevada passes law authorizing driverless cars
#185Interesting that the limited the law to highways (edit: the law limited the use of autonomous vehicles to highways) (section 2, paragraph 1). I suppose it makes sense since highway driving is more predictable but its also higher speed and thus accidents are more dangerous. Also, this limitation would require the presence of a human driver to get the car to the highway.
Re: Nevada passes law authorizing driverless cars
#186Earlier quoted context omitted.
In theory driverless cars could end up having algorithmic optimizations and use networked information such as to use overall road capacity much more efficiently. Then hackers can take control and direct all traffic to participating gambling establishments.
> In theory driverless cars could end up having algorithmic optimizations and use networked information such as to use overall road capacity much more efficiently. A company like Google isn't smart enough to drive off about.com from the front page of almost all of their SERPS, and do you actually expect them to come up with an "algorithmic optimization" for driverless-cars in cities like Cairo or Istanbul?
Traffic routing is a much simpler problem than deciding which webpages are relevant to which search terms. A bunch of CS undergrads could probably come up with a prototype system.
Re: Nevada passes law authorizing driverless cars
#187As an individual who is legally blind and cannot drive, I very much welcome the day when this technology becomes wide-spread and affordable. It is extremely annoying to be in your mid 30's and have to rely on/inconvenience someone else to drive you around. So whether it were getting my own vehicle or seeing vast improvements made to less-than ideal public transportation systems, either would be great.
I was thinking that driverless cars would be a boon for people who cannot drive (for whatever reason -- visual or otherwise). I do wonder, however, if laws will require driverless cars to have a person who is able to drive. (For legal or liability reasons in case of an equipment failure.) I do hope that doesn't happen, but it's possible.
Unfortunately, I suspect the law could very well require a licensed human driver in the vehicle for just that reason. I would hope that this would change over time, though, as the technology improved and became more proven, because there is great potential in this for people who are unable to drive for whatever medical reason.
Maybe there could be some lesser qualification, between being a licensed driver and just an untrained passenger. After all, if you could simply pull over to the side of the road safely, that's about all that would be required in most instances.
Re: Nevada passes law authorizing driverless cars
#188Earlier quoted context omitted.
Curiously enough, though, all of Europe and the US has seen more or less the same kind of development of this kind in recent history. Yet the disparity between rich and poor differs widely between those countries, and it has also gone up and down quite strongly over time. This is very strong evidence that the kind of disparities you mentioned are not truly structural. The "structural argument" is just a decoy used to…
Sweden actually has higher unemployment than the US, but less wealth disparity, because they have a better social support net for the unemployed.
Exactly. It is about political choice, not about structural inevitabilities.
Actual numbers: http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=unemployment+rate+swede...
It looks like Sweden merely caught up with the US in terms of unemployment in the last 20 years.
Look at the quite drastic ups and downs in unemployment in Sweden in the 1990s. I know that's not exactly what you wrote, but does that look like something that is driven by "structural changes"?
Re: Nevada passes law authorizing driverless cars
#189Earlier quoted context omitted.
I can definitely feel 'trapped' when people invade my personal space, especially if they smell or have a cough. Those experiences are horrible for the extended amounts of time required for a commute. I still ride, but driving really isn't an option. Sometimes I wonder why public transport doesn't raise the prices during rush hour to create an equilibrium where the trains don't become sardine cans. I guess economicall…
Maybe a first class area for daily commute
Some of the trains used for commuting where I live (southern sweden/denmark) do have a first class area (which is nearly always empty…).
Re: Nevada passes law authorizing driverless cars
#190Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't know why you're being down-voted, it's a valid question. Computers have eliminated a lot of jobs over the last 30 to 40 years. For example VisiCalc, did a lot of what many tax accountants charged for. It used to be that humans, mostly women, switched (or routed if you will) phone calls. Automation certainly does eliminate many jobs. But interestingly it also seems to make previously impossible things possible…
Personally, I look forward to self-driving sleeper cars and a new type of motel that is little more than a secure parking lot plus some nice bathrooms. What is the feeling of "where you live" if you switch cities each time you sleep? Also, in your hypothetical, if we are all routing calls as our day job, doesn't that mean that at any one time, 1/3 of humans are asleep, 1/3 routing calls, 1/3 possibly on calls. With a…
So out of all of humanity only 1/3 would be making calls? Everyone else would be supporting these phone calls? What on earth would they be talking about?