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Promoting the system with the name 'Autopilot' is, to my mind, quite a bit less than extremely clear communication. Is it, though? Autopilot has never in the h

Promoting the system with the name 'Autopilot' is, to my mind, quite a bit less than extremely clear communication. Is it, though? Autopilot has never in the history of those systems meant hands off controls, attention off driving. Pilots with their autopilots on in airplanes are still flying and watching gauges.

fmihaila 9y ago
> Is it, though? Autopilot has never in the history of those systems meant hands off controls, attention off driving. Pilots with their autopilots on in airplanes are still flying and watching gauges. You are correct about the history of autopilot systems in planes, but when it comes to mass communication technically correct is not necessarily the best kind of correct. I wouldn't assume most people are aware of how autopilot systems work in planes. Edit: just to make it clear, I don't believe this accident was caused by any confusion about the name. Rather, as pointed out by others in this discussion, I think the fact that the system works great for long stretches (some say they never experienced any problems) makes it exceedingly hard for drivers to remain alert. The brain's optimization tendencies are so strong that I think systems relying on people to stay alert when the action-effect-evaluation feedback loop is broken are inherently unsafe. My point is that with suboptimal messaging, Tesla is making it harder for themselves to keep the public on their side when tragedies like this occur.
bdcravens 9y ago
How many Tesla owners have pilot licenses and understand that subtlety?
Obi_Juan_Kenobi 9y ago
The comparison to autopilot is a good one, I agree, but the implication is just the same: it's potentially dangerous. The aviation had to address this issue back in the 80s and 90s, noting that simply failing to properly observe gauges or other indicators contributed to 31 of 37 airline disasters in the 80s: http://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/ntsb/safety-studies/SS94-01.pdf http://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/ntsb/safety-s... It remains an issue, and a very well-explored one that is extremely relevant to car automation. https://www.newyorker.com/science/maria-konnikova/hazards-automation https://www.newyorker.com/science/maria-konnikova/hazards-au...

fmihaila 9y ago

> Is it, though? Autopilot has never in the history of those systems meant hands off controls, attention off driving. Pilots with their autopilots on in airplanes are still flying and watching gauges. You are correct about the history of autopilot systems in planes, but when it comes to mass communication technically correct is not necessarily the best kind of correct. I wouldn't assume most people are aware of how autopilot systems work in planes. Edit: just to make it clear, I don't believe this accident was caused by any confusion about the name. Rather, as pointed out by others in this discussion, I think the fact that the system works great for long stretches (some say they never experienced any problems) makes it exceedingly hard for drivers to remain alert. The brain's optimization tendencies are so strong that I think systems relying on people to stay alert when the action-effect-evaluation feedback loop is broken are inherently unsafe. My point is that with suboptimal messaging, Tesla is making it harder for themselves to keep the public on their side when tragedies like this occur.

bdcravens 9y ago

How many Tesla owners have pilot licenses and understand that subtlety?

Obi_Juan_Kenobi 9y ago

The comparison to autopilot is a good one, I agree, but the implication is just the same: it's potentially dangerous. The aviation had to address this issue back in the 80s and 90s, noting that simply failing to properly observe gauges or other indicators contributed to 31 of 37 airline disasters in the 80s: http://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/ntsb/safety-studies/SS94-01.pdf http://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/ntsb/safety-s... It remains an issue, and a very well-explored one that is extremely relevant to car automation. https://www.newyorker.com/science/maria-konnikova/hazards-automation https://www.newyorker.com/science/maria-konnikova/hazards-au...