I’m not sure I’m ready for this. I remember a story I read in Boy’s life when I was a kid (mid 50s). It was about driverless vehicles. My question would be why do we need them?
I’m just asking! > On Nov 18, 2018, at 7:15 PM, John Robinson <[email protected]> wrote: > > This is a topic I threw out a few weeks ago, now a more definitive line in > the sand seems plausible.. > > I’m sending to this group as Apple is also deep into this technology, and if > this comes to even a fraction of the premise of the article then our > investments may need quite the adjustments as well as our lives. > > John > > > > > What do you think? > > The Jetson’s? > > Dick Tracey on a Hoverboard? > > Reality? > > My company has been preparing for this for years, they know, they have > informed us that our revenge, thus commissions, are going to tank… > > The insurance industry needs the “float” to make the only profit that is > consistent…in the 47 years I’ve been with my company we’ve made an > UNDERWRITING profit a handful of times, yet most years we add several billion > to the reserve fund….through investment returns. > > It’s so serious the company has devoted a massive amount of money to fund > “other businesses”. > > The company has created a new division charged with finding other businesses > we could jump into for as this article says…the technology is going to > drastically alter MANY businesses….insurance being one of the hardest hit. > > Your ideas on this projection, way off the mark or right on? > > > Driverless cars about to rock your world > > 'Autonomous vehicles' poised to 'change everything' > Published: 4 hours ago > > > <driverless-car-ford.jpeg> > > > WASHINGTON – When members of Congress are sworn into office in January, some > of them, or at least their lower-paid aides, are almost assuredly going to be > getting to work in a driverless cab or, “AV for or autonomous vehicle,” as > you will soon be calling it. > > Yes, it’s here – a transportation revolution of unimaginable proportions that > goes way beyond Google’s Waymo AV cab service debuting next month in Phoenix. > > But 99.9 percent of Americans have not thought about what AVs are going to > mean to your lifestyle in the next five years. > > • You may never own one – or any other kind of car again. > > • Getting from here to there will be much cheaper and faster for > individuals, families and cargo. > > • No matter what you think today, everyone will use them – everyone. > > • The day of people getting paid to drive anything on wheels – cars, > trucks, buses, limos, tour buses – will be over. > > • “Mass transportation” will be something found only in museums. > > It may seem like this you’ve been hearing about this potential for a long > time without all that much happening. In reality, developments have been on > overdrive for a decade – just out of your view. > > For instance, Google has been working fast and furious on Waymo for 10 years, > clocking up over 10 million test miles with over 5 million of those miles > recorded in 2018 alone. > > And that’s just the beginning. Waymo has also done 7 billion computer > simulated driving miles of driving in 25 cities. > > <waymo-driverless-car-supplied-600.jpg> > > Waymo driverless car > > Now these AVs are coming out of the shadows and very much into your view. The > only thing holding this story back from being the biggest thing in America is > our own limited imaginations. > > This budding industry will “change everything,” insiders say, beyond your > comprehension. > > How many AVs are on the road today? Probably less than 1 million. In six > years, there will be 60 million. > > Remember how you missed the Amazon’s Initial Public Offering where people who > invested $1,000 in 1997 were rewarded with $1,341,000? There will be dozens > of IPOs like that will dwarf Jeff Bezos’ Amazon’s record-breaking fortune > because of how big the profits from sales of cars and technology and > innovation resulting from this new industry. > > Expect Google’s Waymo to cost about the same as an Uber ride, which is a > ripoff given the price of the ride is mainly the human element. But Google’s > counting on people wanting the daredevil “experience” of taking driverless > cars initially. Later the prices will come way down. Even Uber will be forced > to go driverless or go out of business. > > Think of the take-out food possibilities, the turnaround for Amazon > deliveries, the ability for low-cost pick-up and drop-off service anywhere > and everywhere with no tipping and no parking hassles. > > Some envision this is the revolution we’ve been waiting for to end the > commuting nightmare. These AVs could be built for smart commuting in mind. > > The big breakthroughs in technology are the things that look like police > sirens on the roofs of these cars. These are not there to scare you but to > scoop up massive amounts of location data to keep these babies driving > safely. And so far there is little doubt that we human beings have been doing > that for the last 100 years. > > Have there been accidents? You bet. Just over 100. But most were minor and > caused by other cars, bikes and pedestrians. By contrast, there were 40,000 > traffic-related deaths in the U.S. last year. Researchers say 94 percent of > those accidents are caused by human error. > > So, how big will this thing really be? > > Most experts agree it will be bigger exponentially than the birth of the > automobile itself. > > Car insurance will need to be totally reworked. > > Traffic laws will need a major overhaul. > > Depending on the kinds of cars produced and how people will use the AVs, it > could mean cleaner air and less pollution. Think of how it will free elderly > people to get around with less care and expense. > > Just last week, Ford showed off in a Miami demo the progress it has made in > the last year with AVs. From all reports, it’s really advanced. > > Next up for Ford is Washington, then Detroit, Pittsburgh and Miami for actual > consumer testing. Then comes the launch of its commercial service of robot > taxis and delivery vehicles in 2021. > > > > _______________________________________________ > MacGroup mailing list > Posting address: [email protected] > Archive: > <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.mail-2Darchive.com_macgroup-40erdos.math.louisville.edu_&d=DwIFaQ&c=OAG1LQNACBDguGvBeNj18Swhr9TMTjS-x4O_KuapPgY&r=F2GFXrjLFqVo3VwvIlo_XYeEiRRjHv15rxcenz7A21woG2aFGcrzndoSsskxfmOs&m=wvb_7gDcyaA_Czqyo1sDNhvrjwL5uB6rCD38AUhksNM&s=jR4VT0VFC6w5K2abmyBa2V0jpRIj9Fg2s8mFDIQnBcQ&e=> > Answers to questions: <http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup/> _______________________________________________ MacGroup mailing list Posting address: [email protected] Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/> Answers to questions: <http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup/>
