Oh Dear Another Dead Road User Killed By Computer

[ToraToraTora]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-43459156
When are we going to accept that our current software ability is insufficient for this application? at least Uber has the sense to halt their tests.

[gulliver1]

20.45 " English is not your first language " would you adam and eve it, your having a giraffe.

[ToraToraTora]

gromit: "The human is supposed to be the fail safe, the person in overall controll of the vehicle, in charge. The automation failed, but unfotunately the human did worse. " - So "autonomous" cars are going to need a fail safe? Right oh!

[bhg481]

TTT - you don't seem to be able to comprehend that these cars are still in their development stage. They are currently using humans as a fail-safe device, eventually there will be non-human methods.

[Garaman]

//What on earth is an 'autonomous' car? It is meaningless. Some people need to brush up on their Greek before coming out with silly words.//

I guess literally it means that the car is a law unto itself, and maybe the current software takes that meaning too literally.

[Kromovaracun]

Tragic as this is, it's not an impediment. Autos don't need to be perfectly safe to become widespread, they only need to be better than human drivers.

https://youtu.be/7Pq-S557XQU

It will happen, and we need to prepare.

[ToraToraTora]

perhaps in about 100years bhg, for now, once there has been more death and destruction, it will be abandoned pending the discovery of AI. Which is a pity because I would love to be able to have my car drive me round country pubs etc.

[ToraToraTora]

kromo: "Autos don't need to be perfectly safe to become widespread, they only need to be better than human drivers. " - how little you understand the public. They'll have to 99.999% perfect. Wait till one of them kills a child and the parents have no one to blame/sue.

[Kromovaracun]

//Wait till one of them kills a child and the parents have no one to blame/sue.//

You're right. I don't understand why this would change anything.

[jno]

Maybe parents will have to take better care of their children. They already take much more care than my parents ever did, or needed to, but that’s modern life for you.

[Old_Geezer]

Do we have all the details ? The car should have detected the obstruction and stopped, but do we know it didn't try to do this ? What was the situation where someone opts to walk out in front of a moving car ? Until we know more it's difficult to come to any conclusion. AI isn't a miracle worker, it can't shorten the stopping distance any more than RI can.

[ToraToraTora]

kromo: 09:34, now they can sue/blame the driver, what do they do when there is no driver?

[bhg481]

TTT //what do they do when there is no driver? //

They blame the software, so they correct it, send the bugfix automatically to all cars using it and move on. Unlike human drivers, who don't seem to be able to learn; they still use cellphones, drive whilst drunk etc.

You say you have worked in IT all your working life TTT. Would you care to expand on that? My wife worked with IT for many years, filling in numbers on a spreadsheet. I worked in IT for almost 50 years, programming everything from calculators to massively parallel machines. Having you ever been involved with R&D? If so you will know that even after many years problems crop up with programs as new fields are explored and hitherto impossible situations become possible.

[vulcan42]

bhg481, Isn't the problem here that every computer on every car will have to work perfectly every time, is that situation even attainable?

[bhg481]

Vulcan - yes, I think it is. Computers are small enough nowadays for there to be room to duplicate for important features. On top of that a fail-safe option can be programmed in, just as it is now with engine-management systems etc.

[youngmafbog]

Isn't that the problem though BHG An of us who have programmed for a living know that programs do not cover all bases and in addition over time become so complex and bodged it is impossible to make change and guarantee not affecting something else or bringing some dormant code to life?

[bhg481]

ymb - you have a valid point but where I worked we managed with some programs written in the 1950s which, with major additions and changes of platform, were still working when I retired 10 years ago. It can be done.