5 ms·

It's not about how easy it is to put your hand on wheel so that it can detect a bit of force (you can use bottle of water to do that). The difficult part is to

It's not about how easy it is to put your hand on wheel so that it can detect a bit of force (you can use bottle of water to do that). The difficult part is to stay focused when doing that. If you spent 30 minutes driving to work on a highway, and your car was able to drive itself every day for 2 months, how likely are you to take any reasonable action on 3rd month when something unexpecting happens?

toddmorey 7y ago
I think this undersells how easy it is to disengage attention when you are actively driving. The task of driving (especially your commute route) is very mundane.
mulmen 7y ago
So the problem is the human attention span? Cars without any always-on computer aids such as automatic braking must be really dangerous then.
- Filligree 7y ago
  Driving a car is absolutely the most dangerous activity most people regularly participate in. I don't think you're saying anything controversial there.
  - mulmen 7y ago
    Right so any time a computer can take over is a good thing because computers don’t get bored.
    - makomk 7y ago
      That doesn't follow, because making the human supervise the computer as it takes over rather than actively participating increases the risk of them getting bored and losing attention.
      - mulmen 7y ago
        Do we know that though? Is a distracted auto pilot driver more dangerous than the average person in a car without any aids?
    - mattkrause 7y ago
      Not always. The computer focuses better, but isn’t yet as capable. When things get dicey and the computer abruptly hands control back to a zoned-out human, they won’t have the same situational awareness as if they had been driving all along. OTOH, driving also tires humans out, which leads to errors and accidents too. Figuring out the right balance is non-trivial.
      - mulmen 7y ago
        Maybe. It may be the case as other commenters in this thread have said that the automation actually lets them prepare for unexpected events more than normal because it handles the mundane steering and speed adjustments.
        mattkrause 7y ago
        That seems very, very unlikely to me. I can imagine that being able to relax on the highway makes subsequent high-stress city driving a little more bearable, but people are really bad at going from zoned-out to action mode quickly.
        mulmen 7y ago
        I'm challenging the assumption that driving aids cause drivers to "zone out" any more than normal driving. Driving automation has been common for decades in the form of cruise control. I don't see anyone making the claim that using it makes you "zone out". Auto Pilot is just an evolution of this that handles the steering too. Drivers still need to drive and be engaged.
elisharobinson 7y ago
the first instinct when you are moving above 50 kph on a highway, when you see trouble is to hit the brakes . Im not sure you can forget that. braking will pull you out of AP mode.

toddmorey 7y ago

I think this undersells how easy it is to disengage attention when you are actively driving. The task of driving (especially your commute route) is very mundane.

mulmen 7y ago

So the problem is the human attention span? Cars without any always-on computer aids such as automatic braking must be really dangerous then.

Filligree 7y ago
Driving a car is absolutely the most dangerous activity most people regularly participate in. I don't think you're saying anything controversial there.
- mulmen 7y ago
  Right so any time a computer can take over is a good thing because computers don’t get bored.
  - makomk 7y ago
    That doesn't follow, because making the human supervise the computer as it takes over rather than actively participating increases the risk of them getting bored and losing attention.
    - mulmen 7y ago
      Do we know that though? Is a distracted auto pilot driver more dangerous than the average person in a car without any aids?
  - mattkrause 7y ago
    Not always. The computer focuses better, but isn’t yet as capable. When things get dicey and the computer abruptly hands control back to a zoned-out human, they won’t have the same situational awareness as if they had been driving all along. OTOH, driving also tires humans out, which leads to errors and accidents too. Figuring out the right balance is non-trivial.
    - mulmen 7y ago
      Maybe. It may be the case as other commenters in this thread have said that the automation actually lets them prepare for unexpected events more than normal because it handles the mundane steering and speed adjustments.
      - mattkrause 7y ago
        That seems very, very unlikely to me. I can imagine that being able to relax on the highway makes subsequent high-stress city driving a little more bearable, but people are really bad at going from zoned-out to action mode quickly.
        mulmen 7y ago
        I'm challenging the assumption that driving aids cause drivers to "zone out" any more than normal driving. Driving automation has been common for decades in the form of cruise control. I don't see anyone making the claim that using it makes you "zone out". Auto Pilot is just an evolution of this that handles the steering too. Drivers still need to drive and be engaged.

elisharobinson 7y ago

the first instinct when you are moving above 50 kph on a highway, when you see trouble is to hit the brakes . Im not sure you can forget that. braking will pull you out of AP mode.