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> I think when the kids of 2150 sit down in history class to study the 20th century, they'll laugh at the idea that every family invested significant money into

> I think when the kids of 2150 sit down in history class to study the 20th century, they'll laugh at the idea that every family invested significant money into 1-2 expensive hunks of steel for transportation. We fling these big dirty hunks of steel around at 100mph for perhaps 5% of the day. It can get quite dangerous! Then we waste huge amounts of land by storing them for the other 95% of the day. How bizarre is that? Considering folks in rural areas will still need personal transportation in 2150 I don't think it would appear bizarre at all. Do you consider it bizarre that people used to keep horses around (which means stables, workers to care for them, feeding them, etc.) just for the occasions where they'd want to go into town? And even with self driving cars does that suddenly mean I'm prohibited from owning my own so I can travel where I want when I want? I really don't understand this love affair people have with the idea that we should let some corporate computer network decide when and if we're allowed to leave our homes.

AlexDanger 12y ago
I think you miss the point and are being overly semantic. All I'm trying to convey is my feeling (shared by many) that autonomous vehicles represent a technological step change that will change the way we live. Similar to how the internal combustion engine, radio, antibiotics, transistors, telephones and the internet have changed the way we live. Do you think a child today would consider it bizarre and surprising that in 1850, if you got the flu, you'd probably die and it might take 3-4 days of travelling to arrive at a medical centre? >I really don't understand this love affair people have with the idea that we should let some corporate computer network decide when and if we're allowed to leave our homes. I should have read this first, you're just being silly. No one is suggesting this is the case.
- jessaustin 12y ago
  s/semantic/pedantic/ I know, that's like the worst correction ever. I couldn't resist. b^)
TeMPOraL 12y ago
> And even with self driving cars does that suddenly mean I'm prohibited from owning my own so I can travel where I want when I want? On a private road sure, knock yourself out. But by driving on a public road you're risking the lives of yourself and other participants (and it's not a "everything is unsafe" rhetoric, cars kill a lot of humans every year), and the whole point of introducing self-driving cars is to get rid of human drivers on public roads because they kill people. > I really don't understand this love affair people have with the idea that we should let some corporate computer network decide when and if we're allowed to leave our homes. This "love affair" comes from embracing the fact that a centralized algorithm can route you much faster, safer and more efficiently that you could ever do it yourself, therefore it is best to trust the machine. Because the machine is really better at this than humans.
- JoeAltmaier 12y ago
  Machines are much, much better at flying airplanes too; yet all commercial planes use pilots. I wonder which one will change first, planes or automobiles, which has the most resistance to change. Airplanes - decades of resistance now. And flying is a trivial problem compared to driving.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
  - TeMPOraL 12y ago
    I'm not an aviator, but I was under the impression that commercial flights fly on auto-pilot for 99% of the trip, with an exception for take-off and landing. I don't know the reasons why humans handle lift-off and touchdown though. Still, commercial airplanes are much, much safer than cars, therefore I'd expect a push for self-driving cars to be stronger than for self-flying planes.
    - JoeAltmaier 12y ago
      And where are all the flying accidents? Takeoff and landing, and mostly landing. A case of human cussedness overruling logic. The autopilots can land a plane in all conditions and respond to sudden changes with lightning reflexes.

AlexDanger 12y ago

I think you miss the point and are being overly semantic. All I'm trying to convey is my feeling (shared by many) that autonomous vehicles represent a technological step change that will change the way we live. Similar to how the internal combustion engine, radio, antibiotics, transistors, telephones and the internet have changed the way we live. Do you think a child today would consider it bizarre and surprising that in 1850, if you got the flu, you'd probably die and it might take 3-4 days of travelling to arrive at a medical centre? >I really don't understand this love affair people have with the idea that we should let some corporate computer network decide when and if we're allowed to leave our homes. I should have read this first, you're just being silly. No one is suggesting this is the case.

jessaustin 12y ago
s/semantic/pedantic/ I know, that's like the worst correction ever. I couldn't resist. b^)

TeMPOraL 12y ago

> And even with self driving cars does that suddenly mean I'm prohibited from owning my own so I can travel where I want when I want? On a private road sure, knock yourself out. But by driving on a public road you're risking the lives of yourself and other participants (and it's not a "everything is unsafe" rhetoric, cars kill a lot of humans every year), and the whole point of introducing self-driving cars is to get rid of human drivers on public roads because they kill people. > I really don't understand this love affair people have with the idea that we should let some corporate computer network decide when and if we're allowed to leave our homes. This "love affair" comes from embracing the fact that a centralized algorithm can route you much faster, safer and more efficiently that you could ever do it yourself, therefore it is best to trust the machine. Because the machine is really better at this than humans.

JoeAltmaier 12y ago
Machines are much, much better at flying airplanes too; yet all commercial planes use pilots. I wonder which one will change first, planes or automobiles, which has the most resistance to change. Airplanes - decades of resistance now. And flying is a trivial problem compared to driving.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- TeMPOraL 12y ago
  I'm not an aviator, but I was under the impression that commercial flights fly on auto-pilot for 99% of the trip, with an exception for take-off and landing. I don't know the reasons why humans handle lift-off and touchdown though. Still, commercial airplanes are much, much safer than cars, therefore I'd expect a push for self-driving cars to be stronger than for self-flying planes.
  - JoeAltmaier 12y ago
    And where are all the flying accidents? Takeoff and landing, and mostly landing. A case of human cussedness overruling logic. The autopilots can land a plane in all conditions and respond to sudden changes with lightning reflexes.