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What If Your Autonomous Car Keeps Routing You Past Krispy Kreme?

theatlantic.com

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Re: What If Your Autonomous Car Keeps Routing You Past Krispy Kreme?

#41
post #38
post #2

Just one of a bazillion questions that comes up when your car is autonomous. What happens when the sekrit tech elite want to kill you and so they make your car drive off a cliff? Interesting questions to be sure and already being examined on such shows as "CSI" in the US. Basically one of the reasons new technology rolls out slowly is that there are lots of people asking these sorts of questions and trying to have an…

Another case worse than partially-hijacked trips was mentioned in a slashdot post, and if I recall correctly, there was a vague reference to the autonomous-car-makers considering it, and it has bothered me ever since. Imagine a situation where a crash appears to the AI of car C1 to be be inevitable. But also, if C1 executes maneuver M1, its own occupants will be saved from harm, but another car C2 will have a worse c…

The cynical side of me suspects that the "Volvos" of the future will make this choice less often than the "Pontiacs". The rich will still have safer cars, AI style.

It seems like an interesting branch of "applied theology". Does one, in the end, have faith that these tiny entities imbued with lesser-god-like driving abilities really have one's best interests at heart?

Re: What If Your Autonomous Car Keeps Routing You Past Krispy Kreme?

#42
Maybe I'm missing something, but..

Doesn't this basically already happen? I would imagine retail space along main thoroughfares (e.g. "Main street" or space right next to a very popular highway exit) is substantially more expensive than one that sees 5 cars a day. Retailers already basically know what route you're likely to be taking - the one that most other people take.

Granted they don't physically stop your car and ask if you would like Krispy Kremes, but it seems like that bidding war could get expensive quickly - now Krispy Kreme has to compete for retail space along Main street, and they also have to bid against Dunkin Donuts/etc. in the traffic routing business. Further, If Krispy Kreme is routing 25% of all traffic past their store, then the municipality in question either has to:

a) Outlaw this

b) Add additional roads, etc. to the road near Krispy Kreme, thus making this road the new "Main street" anyway. It'd drive up the cost of that real estate where Krispy Kreme is.

All in all, I just don't see it being economically viable for anyone.

Re: What If Your Autonomous Car Keeps Routing You Past Krispy Kreme?

#43
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who is responsible for paying the fine if the self-driving car breaks the law?

Currently, the driver.

Four people are in the car, two friends, and two people who are on the title and regs. There is no steering wheel. Whose license do the points go on?

Re: What If Your Autonomous Car Keeps Routing You Past Krispy Kreme?

#44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Didn't the first one already happen with Michael Hastings? Although to be fair, it's just suspicions and not any officially accepted story. Nonetheless, they're fairly strong suspicions, same as with the Karl Koch case.

Regardless of whether or not that is true (and full disclosure, I doubt that it is from what I've read) it is surprising to me how something with tenuous evidence can be presumptively believed to be true in certain circles. His own wife says it was a "tragic accident", and his brother says he believed Hastings to be in a "manic episode" at the time. Why is it that random people on the internet have so much more suspi…

Because conspiracies make for a good story to fill your hunger for curiosity, and when you are only loosely versed in the circumstances it is easy to find reasons to believe it was a conspiracy.

Re: What If Your Autonomous Car Keeps Routing You Past Krispy Kreme?

#45
post #15
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But speaking of paying, self driving cars also won't speed, turn right on red without a full stop, etc. Which means traffic tickets would be a thing of the past, along with the revenue they bring in.

Who is responsible for paying the fine if the self-driving car breaks the law?

I hope it's Google.

Re: What If Your Autonomous Car Keeps Routing You Past Krispy Kreme?

#46

Honestly if autonomous cars can reduce even 10% of accidents caused by drunk driving and other human errors then they will have payed their way and more.

That's too idealistic. The reduction of accidents caused by human errors could very well be offset by a substantial increase in machine/OS/SW/HW caused accidents.

Re: What If Your Autonomous Car Keeps Routing You Past Krispy Kreme?

#47
post #46

Honestly if autonomous cars can reduce even 10% of accidents caused by drunk driving and other human errors then they will have payed their way and more.

That's too idealistic. The reduction of accidents caused by human errors could very well be offset by a substantial increase in machine/OS/SW/HW caused accidents.

But humans are really shitty drivers.

The software would have to be written by chimps for it to be worse than human drivers.

I fully expect all kinds of errors to cause human death. I just hope the backlash doesn't destroy something that could save very many lives.

Re: What If Your Autonomous Car Keeps Routing You Past Krispy Kreme?

#48

Better yet, would you trade ads and impulse buys for free rides? So you never have to own a car, but every time you go anywhere your car is actively trying to get you to spend time and money doing things you normally wouldn't do -- play online games, visit donut shops, and so on. Would that be worth never having to own a car?

Consider that such base manipulation would be used primarily on the poor.

I think it is a very long way down the road before the poor start getting self driving cars.

Re: What If Your Autonomous Car Keeps Routing You Past Krispy Kreme?

#49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Currently, the driver.

Four people are in the car, two friends, and two people who are on the title and regs. There is no steering wheel. Whose license do the points go on?

Currently, that situation isn't possible, as self-driving cars still require an attentive driver who can take over at any time.

In the future? That's a hard question, and I'm sure however the legal system deals with it first will be wholly unfair and illogical. It'll be a battle between car owners, manufacturers, state and federal bodies, cities and counties, certification and safety agencies, etc.

Re: What If Your Autonomous Car Keeps Routing You Past Krispy Kreme?

#50
There is limit for decisions for entire day one can have some if some decisions are made for you, you can focus on other things. Technically it is a small slice of your decision allotment but I guess if software can assist me then it is great. However it should not apply to people with less intensive mental labour, for those this might suddenly become habit forming for whatever purpose car decides to stop over or not.

So in general it is ok for a car to stop by only if the car can roughly estimate your health, blood sugar level etc. I mean if the car can assist me for better living that would be great!

my 2c

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