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The air traffic control sector is very dubious about AI in general because they need situation awareness at any time, and they don't want to rely on a system th

The air traffic control sector is very dubious about AI in general because they need situation awareness at any time, and they don't want to rely on a system that will eventually fail. Did sighbit measure the situation awareness of lifeguards with and without their solution? Are they sure lifeguards will not rely on the AI, potentially miss obvious distressed swimmers, and be useless when the system completely fail? Will the lifeguards who always used this system will be trained and not panic when the system will fail, for example because of a power outage?

elmo2you 6y ago
I fear it might be even worse than that. But first let me clarify: I'm not against people using technology to augment their natural capabilities. On the contrary. However, I see a big risk in how this could cause a trend of less qualified (cheaper) lifeguards, hired by people who might feel more pressure regarding budgets than actual safety (probably lands mostly on the "lifeguards" neck anyways). Considering how everything these days is run with a (often bad) cost/benefit analysis, I'm everything but positive about the "unforeseen" side effects of AI in this field. As difficult as it is to spot a single drowning person in a sea of people (no pun intended), it might in fact be partly the feeling of sole responsibility that keeps (good) lifeguards as alert as they often are. I'm not so sure that AI will have a positive sum effect on that.
- Tade0 6y ago
  However, I see a big risk in how this could cause a trend of less qualified (cheaper) lifeguards A lifeguard is currently already a minimum-wage job. Also there's a ton of seasonal workers who aren't exactly that qualified to begin with.
- dahfizz 6y ago
  I was a lifeguard in high school, and I can assure you they are already very cheap to hire. To be red cross certified was a class one night a week for maybe a month or two, and I got hired at the YMCA for under $10/hr
mschuster91 6y ago
> The air traffic control sector is very dubious about AI in general What do ATCs require AI for, anyway? At least as a failsafe against operators issuing catastrophic orders or to catch pilots not following orders (or veering off course), spatial awareness and collision checks is basic geometry only, and the system can be automatically fed with radar and AIS data. > Are they sure lifeguards will not rely on the AI, potentially miss obvious distressed swimmers, and be useless when the system completely fail? That, plus it has been shown multiple times that AIs trained on majority White normal-weight Caucasian datasets will have issues with people of color, Asian people or people over/underweight. And given that many issues regarding discrimination in AI only pop up way after release, this scares me.
catalogia 6y ago
> Will the lifeguards who always used this system will be trained and not panic when the system will fail, for example because of a power outage? Lifeguards in that situation can "fail safe" by ordering everybody out of the water.

elmo2you 6y ago

I fear it might be even worse than that. But first let me clarify: I'm not against people using technology to augment their natural capabilities. On the contrary. However, I see a big risk in how this could cause a trend of less qualified (cheaper) lifeguards, hired by people who might feel more pressure regarding budgets than actual safety (probably lands mostly on the "lifeguards" neck anyways). Considering how everything these days is run with a (often bad) cost/benefit analysis, I'm everything but positive about the "unforeseen" side effects of AI in this field. As difficult as it is to spot a single drowning person in a sea of people (no pun intended), it might in fact be partly the feeling of sole responsibility that keeps (good) lifeguards as alert as they often are. I'm not so sure that AI will have a positive sum effect on that.

Tade0 6y ago
However, I see a big risk in how this could cause a trend of less qualified (cheaper) lifeguards A lifeguard is currently already a minimum-wage job. Also there's a ton of seasonal workers who aren't exactly that qualified to begin with.
dahfizz 6y ago
I was a lifeguard in high school, and I can assure you they are already very cheap to hire. To be red cross certified was a class one night a week for maybe a month or two, and I got hired at the YMCA for under $10/hr

mschuster91 6y ago

> The air traffic control sector is very dubious about AI in general What do ATCs require AI for, anyway? At least as a failsafe against operators issuing catastrophic orders or to catch pilots not following orders (or veering off course), spatial awareness and collision checks is basic geometry only, and the system can be automatically fed with radar and AIS data. > Are they sure lifeguards will not rely on the AI, potentially miss obvious distressed swimmers, and be useless when the system completely fail? That, plus it has been shown multiple times that AIs trained on majority White normal-weight Caucasian datasets will have issues with people of color, Asian people or people over/underweight. And given that many issues regarding discrimination in AI only pop up way after release, this scares me.

catalogia 6y ago

> Will the lifeguards who always used this system will be trained and not panic when the system will fail, for example because of a power outage? Lifeguards in that situation can "fail safe" by ordering everybody out of the water.