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Apple Lays Off 200 Employees from Autonomous Car Unit

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Re: Apple Lays Off 200 Employees from Autonomous Car Unit

#331

Post by mcguire »

Shivetya wrote: post #283
simonh wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Humans can make risk/reward calculations that computers can't. Top take an extreme example, a given set of snow and ice conditions might be bad enough that any reasonable person would not want to drive in them. In such a situation, any well designed self-driving car would refuse to drive. BUT my wife is pregnant, it's a difficult pregnancy with a high risk of death for her and the infant, and she's suddenly gone into…

Oh computers can make the risk/reward calculations, their criteria for risk and reward is wholly in the hands of who develops the logic. and there in lies the problems for companies developing these systems. with current law they would be liable for any negative outcome. logs would be required to be kept and every decision would surely be pulled apart by whatever paid experts each side can find. so without legislatio…

I don't know; in many fields you're certainly right, but most of the autonomous vehicle field is software companies and I can't recall any instance of them facing a major liability.

Re: Apple Lays Off 200 Employees from Autonomous Car Unit

#332

Post by wgerard »

mcguire wrote: post #320
wgerard wrote: post #305

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I find it curious that we are going to hold autonomous vehicles to a perhaps impossibly high standard while we also hold people to barely any standards at all. This is all US-centric obviously, but my 2c: We can blame individuals for bad behavior, it's harder for us to reason about complex systems breaking and that scares us. When an accident happens currently, we immediately rush to judgement: You're a bad driver,…

This may be true socially, at least in some situations, but not legally or morally; most car wrecks, except those with obvious negligence or worse, are "accidents."

> This may be true socially, at least in some situations, but not legally or morally

Is that true? I just did some very cursory research, but: https://blog.lawinfo.com/2017/09/06/human-error-causes-94-pe...

Re: Apple Lays Off 200 Employees from Autonomous Car Unit

#333

Post by coryfklein »

My list so far: Apple, Tesla, Buzzfeed, Verizon/Yahoo/CNBC, HuffPost, SpaceX

Doesn't look like the layoffs will be ending soon either. If it was just one or two that would be one thing, but this is forming a pattern. What do all these companies know?

I keep hearing word of a potential recession or downturn. Is anybody here more keyed in than myself and can provide an explanation?

Re: Apple Lays Off 200 Employees from Autonomous Car Unit

#334

Post by notus »

chx wrote: post #93

Maybe Apple doesn't want to pursue a dream which, as far as we know, can only have a limited outcome? They don't really like such compromises in products. Check this: https://medium.com/s/story/self-driving-cars-will-always-be-... > Waymo’s CEO, John Krafcik, has admitted that a self-driving car that can drive in any condition, on any road, without ever needing a human to take control—usually called a “level five” au…

Why do people in these positions use words like 'never' when they are almost always wrong given enough time? Saying there will never be a fully autonomous vehicle is very shortsighted and arrogant.

Re: Apple Lays Off 200 Employees from Autonomous Car Unit

#335

Post by 0x262d »

phillipcarter wrote: post #318

I really wish companies chasing this far-fetched dream of an autonomous car instead invested in their local transit authorities to make public transit free for all.

the sad reality is that public transit isn't very profitable and has been consciously sabotaged since the invention of cars.

Re: Apple Lays Off 200 Employees from Autonomous Car Unit

#336

Post by wasdfff »

samstave wrote: post #323
WhompingWindows wrote: post #317

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A nice idea in theory, however most cities are woefully behind on public infrastructure to begin with. They're going to be much, much slower to roll-out than any self-contained SDC by SV or Detroit makers.

Recall that company that was installing parking spot sensors in SF? What happened to them? But a company could support making a "Smart Curb" which monitors all traffic infomation around it, acts as a beacon, and does other things... Lots of "iot" ideas could happen from that - like all the Scooters replying to the curbs stating their location. People could choose a ble beacon tag for their traditional bikes and could…

Go anywhere with winter and look at the state of the curbs. Its like eastern europe. In one season everything shifts several inches up or down or out or in, cracks and crumbles, and gets covered with dirt and debris until it is warm enough to begin street sweeping again.

Re: Apple Lays Off 200 Employees from Autonomous Car Unit

#337

Post by wasdfff »

neya wrote: post #61

I don't think Apple has advancements in machine learning tech as much as its competitors. For example, take a look at how primitive Siri is. It struggles a lot in comparison to its competitors even for some basic commands. Or, take a look at Apple Music's recommendation system in comparison to Spotify's discover weekly. Now, take a look at Amazon and Google. They both have their own cloud infrastructure (which ironic…

There’s a lot of unknowns with liability and regulation. I’d rather let someone else take up that legal risk than spend all this money on basic research just to have my shit shut down by ordinance or a manslaughter charge.

Re: Apple Lays Off 200 Employees from Autonomous Car Unit

#338

Post by strangegecko »

coryfklein wrote: post #333

My list so far: Apple, Tesla, Buzzfeed, Verizon/Yahoo/CNBC, HuffPost, SpaceX Doesn't look like the layoffs will be ending soon either. If it was just one or two that would be one thing, but this is forming a pattern. What do all these companies know? I keep hearing word of a potential recession or downturn. Is anybody here more keyed in than myself and can provide an explanation?

without having read the article: layoffs in preparation of an economic downturn would be unusual, especially when it's R&D in a cash rich company

I don't think there's a pattern, companies lay off and rehire people all the time due to changed goals and/or requirements

Re: Apple Lays Off 200 Employees from Autonomous Car Unit

#339

Post by cco »

zbentley wrote: post #248
pkhamre wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the Medium-article you posted: > In short, sensors on autonomous vehicles don’t work well in snow or rain—and that may never change. With that attitude, you are stuck in the past and don't want to make progress with technology.

> With that attitude, you are stuck in the past and don't want to make progress with technology. The statement you quoted is qualified, not an assertion of impossibility. Your claim is silly; the alternative to breathless hype isn't Luddism, it's getting educated about a field and proceeding, if possible, in an informed way. Claiming delusional enthusiasm (with a side of hucksterism and a strong odor of financial inc…

Bundled in that statement is an assertion that there is something about the human visual system that is magic, I think that is frankly ridiculous.

Our eyes are pretty terrible cameras, it's our post processing that makes us able to drive and unless I'm mistaken I'm making relatively straightforward judgements when I'm driving. That processing and logic is really hard right now but I don't see any reason to believe it is impossible.

Re: Apple Lays Off 200 Employees from Autonomous Car Unit

#340

Post by cco »

strangegecko wrote: post #338
coryfklein wrote: post #333

My list so far: Apple, Tesla, Buzzfeed, Verizon/Yahoo/CNBC, HuffPost, SpaceX Doesn't look like the layoffs will be ending soon either. If it was just one or two that would be one thing, but this is forming a pattern. What do all these companies know? I keep hearing word of a potential recession or downturn. Is anybody here more keyed in than myself and can provide an explanation?

without having read the article: layoffs in preparation of an economic downturn would be unusual, especially when it's R&D in a cash rich company I don't think there's a pattern, companies lay off and rehire people all the time due to changed goals and/or requirements

I'm not sure I follow, you think that employment goes up during economic downturns?
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