Take me for a ride...

33 comments

bozz28 KyesterdayPeakD6 min read

I feel like pretty much every time I get in the car and head out on the road these days it becomes even clearer to me just how much we need self driving cars. I know this is a pretty controversial subject and quite honestly, I think a lot of it is simply tied to our idea of "control". I also think it is plagued with biases, misconceptions, and misinformation. Here's a little example:

I was sitting around the campfire with some friends the other day and I mentioned my feelings on self driving cars. It was a pretty easy going and open conversation, but as soon as the topic was brought up, they basically shut down. They started talking about how they were more than happy driving their gas car. Oddly enough, nothing was ever mentioned about electric cars. I was simply talking about automated cars. I get that Tesla does both electric cars well and self driving well, so it's only natural that the two would get so easily lumped together, but I also think this highlights the biases and misconceptions I mentioned earlier.

I'm sure @ericvancewalton has experienced similar situations.

It's true, I have yet to hear about a self driving gas car, but it's not unbelievable to think it wouldn't be possible. I guess time will tell.

Working in IT, I trust computers. They are actually pretty dumb despite this whole AI trend. You give them data, they process the data, they give you a result. I have a person where I work who constantly comes to me and tells me one of our IT processes isn't working. The truth is, the process is actually working just fine, but the data that is being given to it is bad. She only sees the data on the back end, so she assumes the process is broken.

Like I said, computers are dumb (to a degree).

They simply do a task with the data that has been given. It's not the computers fault if the data is bad to begin with.

I realize me saying computers are dumb might not give you a lot of faith in my argument that computers should be driving our cars, but just stick with me here...

source

This is rare occurrence where I had to use Pixabay for this image because I didn't have a good one of my own that depicted traffic. As I said, the more I drive, the more I realize how much better off we would be if self driving cars were the norm.

Let's break this down...

Driver A is that idiot who is going 95 MPH in a 70 MPH zone and gets mad when driver B is only going 80 MPH (again, in a 70 MPH zone). He's likely talking on his hands free phone, and feeling quite entitled. I know the photo doesn't look like it, but he is also probably driving a BMW.
Driver B is a guy like me. Perhaps a little aggressive with his driving, but happy to just set cruise control at 80 MPH in the 70 MPH zone and mind his own business. Always keeping an eye on the traffic around him and just waiting for someone to cut him off because you know it's coming at some point.
Driver C is guy on his way to work playing on his phone, the radio, and eating his sausage McMuffin with egg all while trying to focus on driving.
Driver D is also on her way to work, but she is busy trying to merge with traffic while thinking about the big meeting she has later that day and also trying to put her makeup on.
Driver E wants to be like Driver A, but they aren't even on the expressway yet and they are stuck behind this lady doing her makeup. That means as soon as they see an opening they are going to cut across three lanes of traffic so they can go 95 MPH.
Driver F is a dad trying to get his kids to school in the morning for drop off. They are screaming in the back seats, throwing Cheerios all over and they are all trying to figure out if
Timmy forgot his football gear at home. He gets in the left lane to get around the car in front of him not realizing Driver A is barreling up the expressway at 95 MPH with Driver E close behind him.
You can make up your own stories for Driver G and H, but you get the idea.

That's a whole lot of chaos happening. Some might argue it's controlled chaos, but let's be honest.

Control is a lie

You think you are in control, you think you are good at multitasking, but one small hiccup by any of the drivers in this photo and suddenly you have mass carnage.

Now let's imagine a world where all of these vehicles are working in a giant network, adhering to a strict set of parameters and controls that work in concert to ensure that everyone just like data gets to their destination as quickly, efficiently, and intact as possible.

Let's say even two of the cars above are still people driving the traditional way. I still like my odds more than the chaos I depicted in the example. Data suggests there are about 17,000 auto accidents per day in the US. That's actually lower than I expected, but still not an insignificant number. I'm still putting my odds on a computer being more reliable.

I realize I am getting close to 1000 words for this post and I haven't even touched on the topics of road rage, impatience, and overall mental health when driving. It's been suggested that self driving cars would alleviate a lot of the stressors and negative emotions that driving can introduce.

I'll be the first to admit, I get frustrated when someone cuts me off in traffic. I probably drive closer to the person in front of me than I should, I think I can stop fast enough, but as I get older my reflexes are going to get slower, but @mrsbozz will have that "I told you so" out of her mouth at record speed.

What do you think? Where do you stand on the idea of self driving cars?