Imagine that!

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[Dave WM]

I keep hearing "they will be safer than humans" as one of the reasons for development, lets face it the reason for self driving (as well as driver assist like braking and lane warnings) is for one reason and one reason only. MORE SMART PHONE TIME. that's it the only reason. if safety was a factor, smart phones would be disabled anytime they are moving more that 3 mph. I don't understand the addiction they possess but clearly must be more than opiates base on the extreme limits people are willing to go to get more facebook time.

[rturbo 930]

1 hour ago, Dave WM said:

I keep hearing "they will be safer than humans" as one of the reasons for development, lets face it the reason for self driving (as well as driver assist like braking and lane warnings) is for one reason and one reason only. MORE SMART PHONE TIME. that's it the only reason. if safety was a factor, smart phones would be disabled anytime they are moving more that 3 mph. I don't understand the addiction they possess but clearly must be more than opiates base on the extreme limits people are willing to go to get more facebook time.

More smart phone time is the only reason? Really? How about elderly people who still need to get to doctors appointments, the store, etc., but can no longer drive? How about people who are disabled? I don't particularly like the idea of self driving cars, but to say the only reason they exist is for more smart phone time is lazy thinking.

[Reptoid Overlords]

After watching Volvos autobrake videos, I feel bad for cursing my 88 740's power window speed.

They really have strayed from what they once were. Simple bricks.

There is an entire panel of the worlds leading developers of AI that have been debating and supposedly regulating the future of "the robots".

Personally, I feel like self driving cars is a misguided venture given our current level of technology, but Google and uber apparently pull so much weight that it doesn't seem to matter.

Automation belongs in space, mining and looking for meaningful science.

Sent from my [device_name] using http://Classic Zcar Club mobile

[Dave WM]

25 minutes ago, rturbo 930 said:

More smart phone time is the only reason? Really? How about elderly people who still need to get to doctors appointments, the store, etc., but can no longer drive? How about people who are disabled? I don't particularly like the idea of self driving cars, but to say the only reason they exist is for more smart phone time is lazy thinking.

hmmm seems like family and friends used to fill those voids, guess not anymore.

[rturbo 930]

Just now, Dave WM said:

hmmm seems like family and friends used to fill those voids, guess not anymore.

People have fewer and fewer kids these days, and it's more and more common for them to move away. Also consider that many households have both people working now. There would also be the issue of those in rural areas. As a personal anecdote, my grandmother had a 24/7 care taker, and my mother still had to drive her everywhere because apparently you can't request a care taker with an f'n driver's license (or it was even more expensive, not sure). Lucky that grandma happened to live next door. I don't know what we would have done if we hadn't been nearby, or even in the state. She was old enough at the time she died that there weren't really any friends left anyway, and what few remained probably couldn't drive either.

There are many, many reasons I don't like the idea of self driving cars, but there is most definitely a market for them. Liability in the event of an accident would be a big issue. The number of driving jobs that would be lost is another big one.

[Dave WM]

I have a feeling when you look over at a driverless car, the likelihood of it being grandma is going to be nil, whereas the likely hood of someone furiously thumbing a cell phone is high, very very high. Regardless if you think its lazy thinking then you are welcome to your opinion. Tell you what I will be down with the idea of it being good for grandma as long as Cell phones are disabled while moving.

[rturbo 930]

I will absolutely grant you that cell phone use is getting way out of hand. Unfortunately I don't have any clever ideas to address that. I've heard the argument that they should be disabled while in motion, but then you've screwed over every passenger and public transport user.

I supposed you could make self driving cars something you need to apply for, ie, you have to have a reason for owning it, but given the money that could be made from selling them, I doubt the companies making them would go for that, and I doubt the gov't would either.

[Zed Head]

1 hour ago, rturbo 930 said:

I will absolutely grant you that cell phone use is getting way out of hand.

I was very tempted to lay on the horn today when I looked over and saw a girl actually texting while driving, on a 45 mph highway.  It was a long boring traffic-laden road, but still.  The fines are huge out here but people just cannot resist.  It is an addiction.

[Zed Head]

There was actually a driver behind the wheel in that accident.  The car was in autonomous mode.  So, ultimately, he is the responsible person.

As for the testing of these new technologies on public streets, it's pretty closely related to what Facebook and other companies are doing with their technologies.  There is some sort of weird concept in play these days, that the "masses" (that's us) are there to be manipulated and used, like cattle or some sort of plant.  As long as dollars are generated from the effort.

[charliekwin]

Counterpoint: meanwhile, on an average day in the US, ~100 people are killed by non-self-driving cars: http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/t/general-statistics/fatalityfacts/state-by-state-overview

Also, keep in mind that less than 10 years ago, self-driving cars were widely considered to be an impossibility for the near future. This stuff moves fast.

[Patcon]

14 minutes ago, charliekwin said:

Counterpoint: meanwhile, on an average day in the US, ~100 people are killed by non-self-driving cars

Nope!!!!!

The cars didn't kill any body! The driver behind the wheel killed somebody or himself with a car!!!!