Posted on 03/11/2013 10:44:24 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Google is working on a technology that, if perfected, would prevent about 35,000 deaths per year in the United States and 1.2 million deaths per year worldwide.
To put that number in context: About 23,000 American men and women will die of leukemia in 2012, according to the National Cancer Institute.
But while the technology Google is working on isn't the cure for cancer, it's pretty impressive.
What is it?
Self-driving cars.
According to the U.S. census, 33,808 people died in car crashes in the U.S. in 2009 — 37,423 in 2008. According to the World Health Organization, 1.2 million people die in car crashes around the world each year.
A source familiar with Google's self-driving car program tells us that one of its primary goals is to eliminate the ~99 percent of those deaths that are caused by "human error."
That's obviously a lofty goal.
It's certainly admirable … but is it achievable?
There are some data points to consider before answering that question.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
What, a filter to remove liberal content? Think of how much lower blood pressures across the globe would fall...
Also note how much freedom this device would remove from Americans.
Time passes. Passenger: "How in the heck did we end up on the Henry Hudson Parkway?" Google: "Recalculating..."
Passenger (muttering) "And I thought NYC cabbies were bad..."
If perfected.
Big IF.
Systems fail.
Who gets sued in case of an accident?
You can be sure that the moment this system is put into place the sharks’ fangs will come out, looking for the deep pockets to steal from.
Seeing the way things are going in the USA, there will be no individual responsibility and the nearest entity with assets over a billion will be made to pay.
The gubmint will control the system. No way our elected officials are going to miss an opportunity to restrict the biggest symbol of individual empowerment of them all.
No way am I going to put my driving in the hands of the gubmint.
This technology is coming for sure, it won’t stop at just avoiding car crashes, and it is going to be great.
I say it is coming for sure, because it has already been demonstrated - it just needs to get better and cheaper.
This is just one instance of a technological tidal wave which will start hitting this decade - robots unbolting from the factory floor and moving freely.
Driving cars, trucks, ships and aircraft (e.g. drones) is something they will be able to do untiringly, with the reaction speed of computer-controlled ABS brakes, and with as much built-in redundancy for safety as you would care to buy. The little Roomba robot vacuum cleaner is being joined by robots safe enough to swing blades cutting the grass and operate booms picking fruit, gentle enough to lift a 95 year old out of bed and sturdy enough to enter burning buildings to rescue those inside. Household robots will be able to be let off the leash to do the shopping and run errands on their own, like hitting that damn squirrel with a shot of bear spray the next time he goes for the bird feeder (another robot could videotape this, while a third goes to fetch another beer).
No fundamental technological obstacle or physics problem needs to be solved - just continued engineering refinement and coding, supported by the ongoing improvements in the size, cost and capability of computing power. We will continue to build intelligence into more and more things, which will be able to communicate wirelessly.
Some have said that the field of Artificial Intelligence, or AI, might be better thought of as IA, meaning Intelligence Augmentation, where our capabilities will be expanded with more powerful tools, like a pack of robot assistants, sensors and software applications doing our bidding. The bulk of humanity will be freed up to pursue new lines of work, and the cost of many goods and services will plummet.
This is where we are going as these basic mobility technologies continue to develop - some have already been adopted, but the pace of development is picking up. It is going to be great!
Hey, this is FR! You’re supposed to piss your pants in fear at new technology, not welcome it with open arms and dream of what could be.
Except it’s a train that goes door to door on your schedule with whatever side trips you want.
What could possibly go wrong?
Of course, the Government will be tempted to send robots to the homes of registered firearms owners to confiscate their guns...
That's a lot more than those killed by high capacity firearms.
Some parts of Google are much worse than Windows.
Here’s a killer application for a self-driving car:
When you get pulled over for DUI, you flip the switch and say it was the robot driving.
Here’s another killer application for self-driving cars:
Vehicle Borne IEDs - better than ever!
I hear that the safe driving cars will have an alcohol content tests for themselves.
This is another step toward govt command and control.
We know Google is a Baraqqi symp outfit.
Those that haven’t been demoted to bicycles or trains will have to drive Google cars.
If you're old like me, that statement may be reasonable. If you're under 50, it's gonna happen to you, assuming you are wealthy enough to have a car, in the Baraqqi "new normal".
I wonder how it would treat potholes. It would probably react better than a driver with regard to deer crossing the road.
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