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> Separate "how to" articles from arguments. This article is long because it is both attempting to persuade the reader that we haven't invested enough effort in
by cornholio 9y ago
> Separate "how to" articles from arguments. This article is long because it is both attempting to persuade the reader that we haven't invested enough effort into securing critical systems and also to give a list of proposals.
The solutions are also very very wrong, he proposes a state enforced kill switch for every device capable of autonomous operation. Abusing that system seems like a much greater source of havoc than individual compromises of certain brands.
His main point is pretty insightful and well argued, giving life and death powers to very fragile software on a massive scale will end in disaster. The computer industry is woefully unprepared to deliver hardware, software and systems with the provable integrity many of these applications require.
- deevolution 9y agoThe kill switch should simply be launching a rocket or emp at the infected autonomous vehicle.
- EamonnMR 9y agoThe passengers would probably prefer a less violent approach.
- deevolution 9y agoIm just pointing out an equally horrendous proposal.
- jrockway 9y ago> giving life and death powers to very fragile software on a massive scale will end in disaster. I dunno, we already use software to run trains and it works OK. Gone are the days of track circuits and physical protuberances on the track to open the brake tube when a train tries to go where it shouldn't. Modern positive train control uses 802.11-based wireless networks communicating between trains, and as scary as hacked-up WiFi routers sound for life-and-death applications, it has a better safety record than the easier-to-understand previous-generation technologies. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications-based_train_control https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications-based_train_con... Complex software systems _can_ be successfully implemented. I might even be inclined to trust them more than cars driven by people that got an hour of sleep last night, or people whose financial incentives line up in such a way as to make driving 60mph on residential streets a smart business decision.