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This is not a self-driving car and it is not cruise-control (that demands you pay attention to the lane ahead of you). This is a savant 8 year old driving your

This is not a self-driving car and it is not cruise-control (that demands you pay attention to the lane ahead of you). This is a savant 8 year old driving your car. Seems to behave fine in common cases but if you relax you might well die if an uncommon case comes up that this child has no basis to handle. I personally would rather have an actual 8year take the car, since then I would have the correct amount of attention on the road out of well founded fear for the limitations of the child's abilities

colinmhayes 6y ago
Do we have any evidence that shows 8 year olds can't drive if given enough practice? I mean as long as they can see and reach the pedal I'd say driving is simple enough that they could do it if there aren't any distractions.
- MertsA 6y ago
  Forget 8 year olds, my 3.5 year old can drive a tractor through the woods no problem. We obviously only let him steer and have someone else on the throttle, but he can keep it centered, turn around, avoid obstacles, etc just fine. Kids can handle bipedal locomotion just fine, it's not like they don't have the ability to make rapid decisions to avoid obstacles or correct their position. Steering is no different, it just takes some practice and experience to adapt to it. It's the higher functions that children aren't suited to do.
- teraflop 6y ago
  There was an incident just a few weeks ago where a 5-year-old in Utah took his parents' SUV for a joyride and managed to make it to the interstate before getting pulled over. Based on the police footage, he wasn't doing a very good job of maintaining his lane, but he apparently managed to avoid hitting any stationary objects, so... go figure? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-W-ySng2t8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-W-ySng2t8
- throwaway0a5e 6y ago
  Special interest groups spent the 1930s-50s hand wringing over young kids driving (which was a pretty rare thing anyway) and got a bunch of laws written so clearly some kids were driving just fine at some point. It wasn't decades later when seat-belts came along and alcohol got taken seriously that the roads got appreciably safer so it's not like they were dangerous enough to have an affect despite being rare.
- tgb 6y ago
  I'd be interested in whether dogs could be trained. I know they have literally been trained to drive cars but not as far as I'm aware to such a level that you'd let them on the highway. But my impression is that they are better at focusing on the task than humans, when well trained, and maybe would out perform them, given some navigational guidance. Seems like something for a steam punk novel to have.
  - outworlder 6y ago
    > I'd be interested in whether dogs could be trained Trained? Don't think so. I mean, there are dogs riding skateboards, so I believe that, given the proper ergonomic controls, they could learn how to drive a vehicle. Driving a vehicle safely (as in, not stopping in the middle of a highway to investigate an interesting object) would be a greater challenge. But as far as navigating a space? Sure, they are amazing at that and far better than anything we can come up with in the near future. Heck, if you hook up an insect brain inputs and outputs, you would have a system that's better than what we currently use.
    - s1artibartfast 6y ago
      similarly, cultured rat neurons can operate a mall robotics and avoid obstacles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-0eZytv6Qk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-0eZytv6Qk
  - adav 6y ago
    https://youtu.be/BWAK0J8Uhzk https://youtu.be/BWAK0J8Uhzk - dogs operating a car with a trainer issuing instructions
- jodrellblank 6y ago
  Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton started competitive go-kart racing at age 8, after getting a go-kart for Christmas age 6: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Hamilton#1993%E2%80%932000:_Karting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Hamilton#1993%E2%80%9320... Driving lessons pretty much assume an adult can control a car, they're mostly about how to safely and legally drive on shared public roads, and that's where I'd expect an 8 year old to be significantly less capable, without evidence to support it except - if 8 year olds were as capable of dealing with situations as adults are, we'd call them adults.
- a3n 6y ago
  I wouldn't expect an eight year old to be able to maintain focus, no matter how well they can operate the car. It's hard enough for adults to focus.
- RobLach 6y ago
  8 year olds can drive just fine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2EFsD80nUA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2EFsD80nUA
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- adav 6y ago
  I’ve had an interest in cars for longer than I can remember. Around when I was 8, my father would kindly let me drive the family car around a deserted (private property) car park as a treat. Basic car control was pretty easy to pick up. Avoiding stationary toppled-over trucks on a clear motorway, like the Tesla failed to do, would also be an easily avoidable situation for child driving. I think the hardest part of driving is learning the psychology of other road users and understanding both the positive and negative consequences of your actions. This requires experience and practice.
kzrdude 6y ago
Naming the feature "autopilot" is dangerously misleading.
- rcMgD2BwE72F 6y ago
  Is it? What differs between Tesla's autopilot and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autopilot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autopilot
- bagacrap 6y ago
  don't forget the moniker "full self driving"
  - legolas2412 6y ago
    And then saying that "all our cars have full self driving hardware". I know people who thought that they had it basically done, and only a few regulatory approvals were left.
    - Zenbit_UX 6y ago
      Everyone in this thread knows at least one such person.
- closeparen 6y ago
  "Self-driving" and "autonomous" are dangerously misleading, "autopilot" has exactly the right connotation: something which can help to achieve and maintain some kind of equilibrium (heading, altitude, lane placement, following distance) but is not smart enough to be left alone.
  - D-Coder 6y ago
    It's exactly the right connotation for people who know the connotation. I suspect a large fraction of the population thinks that "autopilot" means "no human pilot needed."
mrfusion 6y ago
They should actually call it “8 year old driver” or “learners permit”. Then you’d know exactly how to treat it.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
electro_blah 6y ago
LOL An 8 year old would have at least yelled there's a fucking thing on the road first before driving head-on into it.

colinmhayes 6y ago

Do we have any evidence that shows 8 year olds can't drive if given enough practice? I mean as long as they can see and reach the pedal I'd say driving is simple enough that they could do it if there aren't any distractions.

MertsA 6y ago
Forget 8 year olds, my 3.5 year old can drive a tractor through the woods no problem. We obviously only let him steer and have someone else on the throttle, but he can keep it centered, turn around, avoid obstacles, etc just fine. Kids can handle bipedal locomotion just fine, it's not like they don't have the ability to make rapid decisions to avoid obstacles or correct their position. Steering is no different, it just takes some practice and experience to adapt to it. It's the higher functions that children aren't suited to do.
teraflop 6y ago
There was an incident just a few weeks ago where a 5-year-old in Utah took his parents' SUV for a joyride and managed to make it to the interstate before getting pulled over. Based on the police footage, he wasn't doing a very good job of maintaining his lane, but he apparently managed to avoid hitting any stationary objects, so... go figure? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-W-ySng2t8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-W-ySng2t8
throwaway0a5e 6y ago
Special interest groups spent the 1930s-50s hand wringing over young kids driving (which was a pretty rare thing anyway) and got a bunch of laws written so clearly some kids were driving just fine at some point. It wasn't decades later when seat-belts came along and alcohol got taken seriously that the roads got appreciably safer so it's not like they were dangerous enough to have an affect despite being rare.
tgb 6y ago
I'd be interested in whether dogs could be trained. I know they have literally been trained to drive cars but not as far as I'm aware to such a level that you'd let them on the highway. But my impression is that they are better at focusing on the task than humans, when well trained, and maybe would out perform them, given some navigational guidance. Seems like something for a steam punk novel to have.
- outworlder 6y ago
  > I'd be interested in whether dogs could be trained Trained? Don't think so. I mean, there are dogs riding skateboards, so I believe that, given the proper ergonomic controls, they could learn how to drive a vehicle. Driving a vehicle safely (as in, not stopping in the middle of a highway to investigate an interesting object) would be a greater challenge. But as far as navigating a space? Sure, they are amazing at that and far better than anything we can come up with in the near future. Heck, if you hook up an insect brain inputs and outputs, you would have a system that's better than what we currently use.
  - s1artibartfast 6y ago
    similarly, cultured rat neurons can operate a mall robotics and avoid obstacles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-0eZytv6Qk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-0eZytv6Qk
- adav 6y ago
  https://youtu.be/BWAK0J8Uhzk https://youtu.be/BWAK0J8Uhzk - dogs operating a car with a trainer issuing instructions
jodrellblank 6y ago
Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton started competitive go-kart racing at age 8, after getting a go-kart for Christmas age 6: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Hamilton#1993%E2%80%932000:_Karting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Hamilton#1993%E2%80%9320... Driving lessons pretty much assume an adult can control a car, they're mostly about how to safely and legally drive on shared public roads, and that's where I'd expect an 8 year old to be significantly less capable, without evidence to support it except - if 8 year olds were as capable of dealing with situations as adults are, we'd call them adults.
a3n 6y ago
I wouldn't expect an eight year old to be able to maintain focus, no matter how well they can operate the car. It's hard enough for adults to focus.
RobLach 6y ago
8 year olds can drive just fine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2EFsD80nUA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2EFsD80nUA
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
adav 6y ago
I’ve had an interest in cars for longer than I can remember. Around when I was 8, my father would kindly let me drive the family car around a deserted (private property) car park as a treat. Basic car control was pretty easy to pick up. Avoiding stationary toppled-over trucks on a clear motorway, like the Tesla failed to do, would also be an easily avoidable situation for child driving. I think the hardest part of driving is learning the psychology of other road users and understanding both the positive and negative consequences of your actions. This requires experience and practice.

kzrdude 6y ago

Naming the feature "autopilot" is dangerously misleading.

rcMgD2BwE72F 6y ago
Is it? What differs between Tesla's autopilot and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autopilot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autopilot
bagacrap 6y ago
don't forget the moniker "full self driving"
- legolas2412 6y ago
  And then saying that "all our cars have full self driving hardware". I know people who thought that they had it basically done, and only a few regulatory approvals were left.
  - Zenbit_UX 6y ago
    Everyone in this thread knows at least one such person.
closeparen 6y ago
"Self-driving" and "autonomous" are dangerously misleading, "autopilot" has exactly the right connotation: something which can help to achieve and maintain some kind of equilibrium (heading, altitude, lane placement, following distance) but is not smart enough to be left alone.
- D-Coder 6y ago
  It's exactly the right connotation for people who know the connotation. I suspect a large fraction of the population thinks that "autopilot" means "no human pilot needed."

mrfusion 6y ago

They should actually call it “8 year old driver” or “learners permit”. Then you’d know exactly how to treat it.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

electro_blah 6y ago

LOL An 8 year old would have at least yelled there's a fucking thing on the road first before driving head-on into it.