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Cars-as-software demand software-centric co's hiring ML people. Legacy won't catch up, startups will.

by bobsil1 7y ago

maxxxxx 7y ago
Dream on. Cars aren’t software.
- bobsil1 7y ago
  Nope. Car differentiators are going to be tablet screen + special-purpose AI. Dumb cars = vinyl.
  - maxxxxx 7y ago
    A car is a thing to get from A to B in a reliable manner. Screens and AI are secondary.
    - bobsil1 7y ago
      “A phone is for voice calls.”
      - maxxxxx 7y ago
        Current smartphones are an evolution of the PDA idea that started with the Apple Newton, Palm Pilot and others. People always dreamed of a handheld device that would enable them to communicate and get information. What do you expect a car to do other than carting people around? Once it can go autonomously from A to B what else will people use a car for?
phkahler 7y ago
There is a lot of software in cars, but cars are not software. Making cars is a lot harder from a business perspective than doing AI. In the end software is just a file that gets loaded into a module - one step in a very long chain.
- bobsil1 7y ago
  Manufacturing is well-understood, self-driving is research. Dumb cars = flip phones shortly.
  - koolba 7y ago
    I doubt that will happen. The paradigm shift for a “smart” car vs just a car is nothing like a flip phone vs a smart phone. Besides being able to drive you home when you’re drunk, what can you smart car do for you that you couldn’t already do with a regular car? Cruise for parking? These are just minor conveniences and for large swathes of the population, they’re likely not welcome either.
    - jaggederest 7y ago
      > No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame. https://slashdot.org/story/01/10/23/1816257/apple-releases-ipod https://slashdot.org/story/01/10/23/1816257/apple-releases-i... I think you're significantly underestimating the impact it would have.
      - koolba 7y ago
        Yes and you can recreate Dropbox with SSH, rsync, and cron. We’ve all read these played out comments over and over... So what game changing functionality do you think smart cars provide?
        jaggederest 7y ago
        I don't think it's possible to understand from this point in time. I suspect it will be enormous - think advent of the automobile or airplane. One of my bets is that it will result in people moving away from the city - one of the major drawbacks of rural life is driving distance.
    - grey-area 7y ago
      What can a smart car do that a 'regular' car can't? Save millions of lives by being safer driving than humans? Drive you home the rest of the time? Drive you cross country overnight while you sleep? Come and pick you up at the airport after a holiday? Make you money during the day as an autotaxi while you're not using it? Save your life by avoiding accidents you didn't see? Radically bring down the cost of taxis and car hire for those who don't own a car? In our lifetimes all cars will be electric driverless cars in at least some countries. It may not be Tesla but the future is coming.

Cars-as-software demand software-centric co's hiring ML people. Legacy won't catch up, startups will.

maxxxxx 7y ago

Dream on. Cars aren’t software.

bobsil1 7y ago
Nope. Car differentiators are going to be tablet screen + special-purpose AI. Dumb cars = vinyl.
- maxxxxx 7y ago
  A car is a thing to get from A to B in a reliable manner. Screens and AI are secondary.
  - bobsil1 7y ago
    “A phone is for voice calls.”
    - maxxxxx 7y ago
      Current smartphones are an evolution of the PDA idea that started with the Apple Newton, Palm Pilot and others. People always dreamed of a handheld device that would enable them to communicate and get information. What do you expect a car to do other than carting people around? Once it can go autonomously from A to B what else will people use a car for?

phkahler 7y ago

There is a lot of software in cars, but cars are not software. Making cars is a lot harder from a business perspective than doing AI. In the end software is just a file that gets loaded into a module - one step in a very long chain.

bobsil1 7y ago
Manufacturing is well-understood, self-driving is research. Dumb cars = flip phones shortly.
- koolba 7y ago
  I doubt that will happen. The paradigm shift for a “smart” car vs just a car is nothing like a flip phone vs a smart phone. Besides being able to drive you home when you’re drunk, what can you smart car do for you that you couldn’t already do with a regular car? Cruise for parking? These are just minor conveniences and for large swathes of the population, they’re likely not welcome either.
  - jaggederest 7y ago
    > No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame. https://slashdot.org/story/01/10/23/1816257/apple-releases-ipod https://slashdot.org/story/01/10/23/1816257/apple-releases-i... I think you're significantly underestimating the impact it would have.
    - koolba 7y ago
      Yes and you can recreate Dropbox with SSH, rsync, and cron. We’ve all read these played out comments over and over... So what game changing functionality do you think smart cars provide?
      - jaggederest 7y ago
        I don't think it's possible to understand from this point in time. I suspect it will be enormous - think advent of the automobile or airplane. One of my bets is that it will result in people moving away from the city - one of the major drawbacks of rural life is driving distance.
  - grey-area 7y ago
    What can a smart car do that a 'regular' car can't? Save millions of lives by being safer driving than humans? Drive you home the rest of the time? Drive you cross country overnight while you sleep? Come and pick you up at the airport after a holiday? Make you money during the day as an autotaxi while you're not using it? Save your life by avoiding accidents you didn't see? Radically bring down the cost of taxis and car hire for those who don't own a car? In our lifetimes all cars will be electric driverless cars in at least some countries. It may not be Tesla but the future is coming.