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Is Uber's push for self-driving cars a job killer?
CNN ^ | August 19, 2016 | Matt McFarland

Posted on 08/21/2016 10:17:53 AM PDT by MinorityRepublican

Uber has generated thousands of jobs since launching in 2009. But that trend could be shifting.

The company is feverishly investing in self-driving technology, putting the economic futures of drivers around the world in question.

Uber announced Thursday that it will soon offer rides in self-driving cars in Pittsburgh, a significant step toward rides without a human driver.

Uber also announced Thursday that it acquired highly-regarded self-driving truck startup Otto. Uber is ramping up efforts that began last year when it hired scores of robotics experts from Carnegie Mellon University.

(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: uber
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1 posted on 08/21/2016 10:17:53 AM PDT by MinorityRepublican
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To: MinorityRepublican

I would never travel in a driverless car.....could get hacked....you could end up somewhere not of your own choosing.


2 posted on 08/21/2016 10:19:20 AM PDT by Be Careful
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To: MinorityRepublican

I think being the go to for summoning a robot car was their intention all along, human drivers were just a stop gap.

Like Netflix mailing DVD’s while waiting for streaming to really catch on.


3 posted on 08/21/2016 10:20:26 AM PDT by Snickering Hound
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To: MinorityRepublican

I think it sounds like a job killer, or a trend which leads to attrition and erosion of their driver base.

I hear radio commercials a lot for Uber. They stress how you can work your own schedule, be your own boss, etc., if you are an Uber driver.

If Uber doesn’t need human drivers, then Uber would not be creating these driver jobs for which they are advertising.


4 posted on 08/21/2016 10:21:35 AM PDT by Dilbert San Diego
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To: Be Careful

Cmon! With that line of thinking you’d still be taking car and buggy today and running lights of kerosene lamps


5 posted on 08/21/2016 10:22:24 AM PDT by Jarhead9297
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To: MinorityRepublican

I do not believe that autonomous vehicles work very well on roads that don’t have good paint-stripes delimiting the lanes.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-autonomous-infrastructure-insig-idUSKCN0WX131

That would tend to narrow down the areas where they can be used.


6 posted on 08/21/2016 10:23:03 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (If you are not prepared to use force to defend civilization, then be prepared to accept barbarism.)
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To: Snickering Hound

Ya, that’s right. I remember how Netflix started out mailing you a DVD, then when you sent it back, they would send you another.

does Netflix still do mail DVDs, or are they strictly a streaming service now? I don’t subscribe; have only heard 2nd hand how they operate.


7 posted on 08/21/2016 10:23:06 AM PDT by Dilbert San Diego
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To: MinorityRepublican

Doesn’t it still require an operator?


8 posted on 08/21/2016 10:23:06 AM PDT by ichabod1 (Make America Normal Again)
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To: Dilbert San Diego

It’s called get with the times...think about the economic opportunity! Insurance companies would be a thing of the past, police revenue, rental cars would now be pick up with monthly fees...

The entrepreneurship is endless


9 posted on 08/21/2016 10:24:10 AM PDT by Jarhead9297
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To: Dilbert San Diego

10 posted on 08/21/2016 10:24:32 AM PDT by wally_bert (I didn't get where I am today by selling ice cream tasting of bookends, pumice stone & West Germany)
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To: Dilbert San Diego

11 posted on 08/21/2016 10:24:32 AM PDT by wally_bert (I didn't get where I am today by selling ice cream tasting of bookends, pumice stone & West Germany)
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To: Dilbert San Diego
does Netflix still do mail DVDs, or are they strictly a streaming service now? I don’t subscribe; have only heard 2nd hand how they operate.

They still do it, but it's a fraction of their streaming business.

Delays on their putting out new releases and price increases really dented it.

12 posted on 08/21/2016 10:25:22 AM PDT by Snickering Hound
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To: MinorityRepublican
These tech nerds are crazy, a driver less car is an insane concept. These stupid stories are tiresome. We live in an age when OS crash frequently. Just because some visionary geek is creating technology doesn’t mean society needs to accept it.

Who should be sued from the first death via a driver less car?

13 posted on 08/21/2016 10:25:47 AM PDT by Vision (Best Radio Station Ever: www.MartiniInTheMorning.com)
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To: MinorityRepublican

Can someone explain to me, as if I’m six years old, how a driverless car works? Does it get a signal from a satellite? Does it get a signal from a cellular phone tower? How does it know where it is and where it’s going? How does it avoid road hazards? How does it drive on a snowy road in the winter?

sorry for juvenile questions, but I’m unclear what technology guides a driverless vehicle.


14 posted on 08/21/2016 10:25:52 AM PDT by Dilbert San Diego
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To: Be Careful

I would never travel in a driverless car.....could get hacked....you could end up somewhere not of your own choosing.

...

Then there was the Uber driver who went on a killing spree between fares.

As long as the driverless cars are statistically safer, they would be the smart choice.


15 posted on 08/21/2016 10:26:41 AM PDT by Moonman62 (Make America Great Again!)
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To: Be Careful

The very last paragraphs says that drivers would still have jobs in call centers taking control of vehicles that have gotten into situations they can’t handle. The stupidity is mind boggling.


16 posted on 08/21/2016 10:27:00 AM PDT by willyd (I for one welcome our NSA overlords)
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To: MinorityRepublican
Job killer? For who - immigrants? In NYC, you know longer have to speak English to be a taxi driver.
17 posted on 08/21/2016 10:27:30 AM PDT by Cowboy Bob
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To: MinorityRepublican

Maybe, but Uber won’t have to worry about passengers being assaulted by their drivers. (And vice-versa)


18 posted on 08/21/2016 10:31:08 AM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
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To: MinorityRepublican
What could possibly go wrong?


19 posted on 08/21/2016 10:31:08 AM PDT by Donglalinger
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To: Be Careful
I would never travel in a driverless car.....could get hacked....you could end up somewhere not of your own choosing.

It's coming.

When the motor vehicle got invented, most people swore that they would never ride in such a contraption. They'd stick to their trusty horse and buggy - thank you very much.

Then when the airplane came along, most people swore that you would never catch them in such a contraption. "If God intended us to fly, why he'd have given us wings" they used to say.

So it's coming and eventually people will come to accept them. Personally I can't wait for them to come to New York City as I hate dealing with taxi drivers and riding the subway has a lot of downside.

20 posted on 08/21/2016 10:31:19 AM PDT by SamAdams76 (It is a wise man who rules by the polls but it is a fool who is ruled by them)
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