All really good points, Chris. I, too, feel more comfortable with the
idea of a self driving car where I can still take control if I need to.
It's kind of like autopilot in an airplane. It works as programmed but
you still have the yoke and other controls. In fact, it's designed so
that you can override it with force - it makes the yoke stiff but you
can still out muscle it. Similar for your other ideas - various audible
or visual warnings for approaching danger - that's kind of like a stall
warning or nav aids in a plane. The airplane systems warn but the pilot
gets to make a decision on the best maneuver.
On the other hand, having autopilot in a plane can work very safely
since it is unlikely the plane has to respond to anything suddenly. On
the road, though, you could be lulled into complacency and not be ready
to "take the wheel" and react when an emergency occurs or when the
system is making a "bad" decision.
So, maybe, having a self driving car with human override isn't any
better than a fully self driving car. I don't know.
Anyway, if you put a bunch of self driving cars in a demolition derby,
will they be able to hit each other?
Peri
------ Original Message ------
From: "Chris Tromley via EV" <[email protected]>
To: "Electric Vehicle Discussion List" <[email protected]>
Sent: 06-Apr-15 5:08:03 PM
Subject: Re: [EVDL] self driving cars
On Mon, Apr 6, 2015 at 6:18 PM, Lee Hart via EV <[email protected]>
wrote:
Here's the "elephant in the room" that I haven't seen addressed: When
a
self-driving car is involved in a fatal accident, who pays? Who goes
to
jail?
I wouldn't want to be in a self-driving car because when (not "if")
something goes wrong, every personal injury lawyer in the country
will be
filing lawsuits, against anyone and everyone even remotely involved.
Lee's quite right of course. Everyone is speculating on what this is
now,
what it will evolve into, and generally thinking in broad strokes. But
it's the details that will bite hard.
Simple sense-and-response control would be just begging for a tragic
outcome. And there is no AI system sufficiently advanced to make the
right
decision in every case. There will be wrong responses, some tragic.
Also,
if you cede too much control to "the system" that means you have little
control when some glitch becomes a seriously FUBAR situation. Making
this
work really well would require a massive software validation effort
that
few companies will do properly. (They frequently have a hard time
implementing CANBUS properly.)
This is all a perfect example of the "four wheel drive" analogy - four
wheel drive can allow you to do things that are otherwise impossible.
But
if it is implemented or used improperly, it will only get you deeper
into
trouble than you might otherwise have been in. Sadly, there will be
lawyers that specialize in these cases, and they will make lots of
money.
There's a far stronger case to be made for using tech in ways where we
know it works - sensing what is difficult for humans to perceive, and
rapid
response. I would welcome an infra-red HUD that would allow me to see
in
the dark or through fog, dust and blizzards. Or an audible warning that
closure rate to the vehicle ahead is too fast. Maybe even automatic
braking in that case, but I'd have to try it first. An audible warning
that you're about to collide with someone in your blind spot would be
good,
but a steering correction would NOT be OK. Like if I'm purposely
changing
lanes into someone because that collision is the lesser of two evils.
That's a decision I want to make myself.
I'm all for enhancements. But the decisions are mine. AI is simply not
up to the task yet. The real test is not when you can show what
amazing
things a self driving car can do - it's when you throw situations at it
trying to make it do the wrong thing and you can't. No one wants to
show
those test yet, but those are the ones that matter.
Chris
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