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      07-18-2016, 03:08 PM   #29
sirdaft1
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Outlaw M3 View Post
And we're not even considering how patents and rivalries will hinder the advances in the next stages of this technology progression. Many companies are sharing or opening up some patents in the hopes their version of the technology wins out.

At the current stage, these autonomous vehicles can handle mundane situations IMO. They can not handle panic stops + avoidance such as a pedestrian jumping into your lane, and other "quick thinking" situations where more than one input is required (braking and steering).

Real people have a hard time dealing with these as well and I've yet to find a computer or computer system that can outthink a human every day, all day (yeah, Watson can beat a chess champion but have you seen the size of that machine!?).

What we'll get is pre-programmed reactions so we're back to the single most problematic issue -- who is responsible when the program is inadequate? Who's accountable?
Another interesting thought... how are the software engineers supposed to program the logic into the AV's in the case of an inevitable crash? For instance, what should it be programmed to do when a semi-truck swerves into the AV's lane and the choice is either: head-on crash with the semi, swerve into oncoming traffic and high chance of head-on crash, or swerve to the right where there are people walking on the sidewalk? Do they place a "life value" on the individuals involved in the scenario and take this into account in the logic? (ie: mother pushing baby in stroller has higher life value than convicted felon driving in AV???)

It may sound like is a highly unlikely event, but it's worst case scenarios like these that someone will have to program the logic on. And the more you think about it, the more it gets really messy.
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