4 ms·

Reading this comment (and the many like it) I get the feeling that something essential must be getting left out when we're speaking of the "far-off mass-deploye

Reading this comment (and the many like it) I get the feeling that something essential must be getting left out when we're speaking of the "far-off mass-deployed self-driving tech". Mostly because it directly contradicts my day-to-day experience. I've personally seen a few "self-driving cars" on the streets of SF and I suspect many of you reading this have as well (particularly if you live in the Mission or South Park). Just last year I was talkng with engineers at the self-driving car company "Cruise" which had a free internal app to taxi employees around with a self-driving car. I personally saw the tech demoed. One of the engineers called one up to go drinking the weekend prior (sans drinking buddies - company policy). He claimed his coworkers come to work in them occasionally. The cars and engineers could be a grand charade but it seems like "self-driving cars" are already used by non-daredevils every weekday. I learned to drive on backroads of rural Colorado; It may be these cars are safer than I in the sometimes "adverse" driving conditions of San Francisco. Is this really how a distant technology looks?

drostie 8y ago
Yes. That can be how a distant technology looks, if the stakes for failure are that people die. You can get early adopters from one tail of the bell curve, hype, working prototypes, and people dying because prototypes fail. There may be a churn of companies... "We know that AlphaDrive and BetaDrive both killed people but we here at GammaDrive want to reassure you that we're totally committed to your safety!" "But that's what BetaDrive said." "Yeah but we REALLY MEAN it this time." "Wait, what to you mean, 'we'?" "Um, nothing..." "You hired BetaDrive's employees when they went out of business, didn't you?" "Uh... Oh would you look at the time!" With that said I don't know Cruise and maybe they're doing better than Tesla.
paulie_a 8y ago
A few sightings in silicon valley is an incredible leap to mass adoption. And looking at cruise, their website is low grade marketing. Mostly concerned about hiring and not about pushing their actual technology. it's amateur hour honestly.

drostie 8y ago

Yes. That can be how a distant technology looks, if the stakes for failure are that people die. You can get early adopters from one tail of the bell curve, hype, working prototypes, and people dying because prototypes fail. There may be a churn of companies... "We know that AlphaDrive and BetaDrive both killed people but we here at GammaDrive want to reassure you that we're totally committed to your safety!" "But that's what BetaDrive said." "Yeah but we REALLY MEAN it this time." "Wait, what to you mean, 'we'?" "Um, nothing..." "You hired BetaDrive's employees when they went out of business, didn't you?" "Uh... Oh would you look at the time!" With that said I don't know Cruise and maybe they're doing better than Tesla.

paulie_a 8y ago

A few sightings in silicon valley is an incredible leap to mass adoption. And looking at cruise, their website is low grade marketing. Mostly concerned about hiring and not about pushing their actual technology. it's amateur hour honestly.