Franken-algorithms: the deadly consequences of unpredictable code

The Guardian ^ | 8-30-2018 | Andrew Smith

[budj]

he 18th of March, 2018, was the day tech insiders had been dreading. That night, a new moon added almost no light to a poorly lit four-lane road in Tempe, Arizona, as a specially adapted Uber Volvo XC90 detected an object ahead. Part of the modern gold rush to develop self-driving vehicles, the SUV had been driving autonomously, with no input from its human backup driver, for 19 minutes.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Over time, (one week, one month, one year...) self driving cars will reduce road fatalities significantly.

I think “one year” is probably optimistic. But, given the statistics on auto accident deaths and injuries, simply going on anecdotal data such as the unfortunate woman killed as described in the story is entirely misleading.

It’s clear that airline travel has gotten exponentially safer in the past couple of decades, and something must be done to get on the same sort of track wrt auto safety. And self-driving autos are what is on offer to try to do that.

IMHO the question should not be, “is self-driving auto tech mature enough to significantly reduce casualties in one year? The real question is, “is self-driving auto tech mature enough that, if adopted now, it will significantly reduce casualties over the next five years? Because we know there will be a learning curve after adoption of the tech.

There are bound to be different people killed by self-driving tech as by (all-too) human drivers. And it’s awful for the guy who’s killed by the adoption of the new tech. But the opportunity is also huge. And serious.

[Paladin2]

I, for one, look forward to having a car that can loop around the block by itself if I have to go downtown and dash into the old skool lock smith for a couple of minutes rather than have to endure all sorts of aggravation using a difficult to find parking spot.

[Drango]

Waymo’s launch in Phoenix is being delayed but it will happen:

http://engineeringiswow.com/2018/08/29/waymos-self-driving-taxis-are-struggling-on-the-road-report-says/

[lepton]

The article also gives some reasons why Googles withdrawal from *Specific* DoD programs may actually make a lot of sense.

Weaponizing AI that you not only don’t understand, but probably CAN’T understand does sound like a bad idea.

[lepton]

There’s a simple reason for this. Each successive automated feature makes it easier for the motorist to drive the car without paying attention.

---

We have a whole host of social ills that follow the same pattern - where because an obvious consequence of an action is reduced, or even nearly eliminated, that the rate of risky behavior explodes and yields worse problems than the unmitigated situation.

[lepton]

I would really like to see some top notch mathematicians versed in chaos/complexity theory take a look at the driving environment as a whole, involving the tens of thousands of factors involved in driving on all roads ranging from dirt trails to interstate highways, city driving to driveways, all weather and driving conditions, all levels of skills, all behaviors of driving, all types of vehicles, et. al., and render a verdict on the level of chaos/complexity involved and the resulting probability of success in building an autonomous driving vehicle ... my guess is that the verdict would be that driving is a chaotic system that is literally mathematically impossible to program a solution for ... after decades of trying, we STILL cannot automatically translate accurately from one language to another, a MUCH simpler task in terms of complexity than driving ...

---

I am going to make sure that I am able to do some research in the field of education, I am sure that I am going to make a decision in the form of a person, Antararaajyeey, shaharee draivave pahunch sadakon, sabhee jalwaayu sthitiyon and drawing sthitiyon, kaushal ke saabhee star, sabhee chaalak vyavahaar, sabhee prakar ke vaahah tha I am going to give you some information about how I have been able to communicate with each other ... I know that I have a lot of knowledge that I have a lot of net worth of netrtv and I have a lot of people who have a lot of work related to me ... Because, I am not able to do anything in the language of the language, because I am a person who has a lot of importance in the work of jatilata in the public.

[GingisK]

Yep, you are right. Oh well, I’d prefer to drive my own car anyway. Why the quest toward automating everything? People shouldn’t become superfluous or just plain bored.

[HeadOn]

Why? Somebody on one of these threads one time speculated that if the gubmint can ban manual driving, they can make a case of “optimizing” the number of cars, so you don’t “have” to “own” one - you can just summon one with your phone, and it will come to you! Then, Obama’s grandson gets in the White House, and you only get a car if the gubmint approves of your travel...

They’d LOVE that.

[dfwgator]

Rush’s “Red Barchetta” coming to fruition.

[HeadOn]

HAHAHA! Didn’t register at first. I thought you were talking about Limbaugh! Had to look it up - I like RUSH, but not one of my favorites. Saw them in Nashville a few years ago... Peart is a phenomenon inside that huge drum kit.