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million professional drivers in US are about to be without a job
09-06-2013, 03:51 PM
They plan to automate long-haul trucking?
Yeah, I'm skeptical. They said the same thing about automating the aircraft industry and doing away with pilots. We already have aircraft that can practically fly themselves (takeoff, landing and all) but humans are still in the loop. Why? Because for all of the advancements in unmanned technology, human piloting still results in safer operation. The average human brain is still the most powerful computer in existence. That kind of computational power will remain relevant even in the distant future when more powerful supercomputers actually exist-there are things that people will always still have to do and be able to do better than computers.
That, and there are issues of the social contract. Many would argue that welfare (together with the taxation that funds it) is one of the compromises inherent in any civilization's social contract. In short, government must help to provide a safety net for its disadvantaged in order to ensure that said masses remain in line and don't put anyone to the guillotine. The same can be said of non-essential aspects of modern civilization like art, music, and sports. Bread and circuses keep the masses occupied, and are thus worth the expense.
In time, automation may reveal another compromise to be added to this contract: the need to scale back automation even as technology enables it to reach new levels. Should automation eliminate too many lower-level occupations, we will end up in a scenario in which only a small intellectual and social elite are able to find good work and accumulate wealth while everyone else serves them. The masses won't tolerate this for long (too many idle young men = trouble), so assurances must be made for them to work somehow. That, or we'd have to institute a guaranteed minimum income to distribute the wealth produced by that automation. I think that the latter is less plausible and desirable than the former.
Know your enemy and know yourself, find naught in fear for 100 battles. Know yourself but not your enemy, find level of loss and victory. Know thy enemy but not yourself, wallow in defeat every time.
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09-06-2013, 04:09 PM
Outside of the trucking aspect, I can wait to see more self driving cars on the road, and the eventual changes that will come to cars once they are firmly established (i.e. can be designed more like mini limos, you just chill and get work done).
Probably the only part of Minority Report that's happening now that I'm excited about.
Fun scenario for a future RVF meet up: "Alright those taking the Hyperloop, we can meet at _____. Anyone else coming in Google Cars, you can start the pre-drinking early."
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09-06-2013, 04:18 PM
Not gonna happen anytime soon. The roads in North Jersey and NYC are tight and twisted. I doubt an automated truck can maneuver them gracefully. And what happens the first time one of these trucks runs over a kid and keeps going?
Team Nachos
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09-06-2013, 04:19 PM
It's weird that we've reached the point where any new technology is seen as simply a threat to existing jobs. My sense is that something's changed in Western culture to where we've become techno-phobic except when it comes to new smart phones and social media sites.
Of course, self-driving cars will put millions out of their jobs. But they will also increase economic growth and make all of our lives more convenient and fun.
No more traffic jams. Quick same-day delivery of anything you want. No need to buy a car - purchase one-time car use whenever you want. Get driven around by your own robot chauffeur. Drunk? No need to call a cab, take the Google car home.
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09-06-2013, 04:46 PM
Its more a legal problem, than a technological one. There are premium models to buy with lane, distance, traffic jam and start stop assistance already.
When you drive a car, you are responsible in case of a accident. Who is responsible if a automated car has a accident?
The automotive company? The supplier delivering the safety systems? The sensor company whose product may have failed?
America might be the worst possible place for a accident/law suit.
If automated cars will come, there has to be one person in the drivers seat and is responsible in case of an accident.
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million professional drivers in US are about to be without a job
09-06-2013, 04:50 PM
Not to mention how easy it would be to drive down the road with a jamming system causing anarchy. That and the idiots that dream this shit up probably want to put it on a MAC system.
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09-07-2013, 01:20 AM
Also, one of Google's cars was involved in a minor accident though it was supposedly being manually controlled at the time.
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09-07-2013, 01:23 AM
yup. a minor fender bender while parking. by a human driver. her name was Something Something Cheng
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09-09-2013, 09:40 AM
I think before implementing self-driving cars they should start with truly self-driving long distance trains. I know there are a few metro systems that are driverless, but haven't heard about any long distance driverless trains. Making a train driverless must be miles easier than a vehicle that needs to go on a public road. Walk before you try to run.....
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million professional drivers in US are about to be without a job
09-09-2013, 03:21 PM
You can automate practically any job- I learn spanish better from online videos and rosetta stone than I did sitting in class with a teacher.
The question is - is this good for society as a whole?
I would say that it is not. People need to work and have the transfer of funds occur for our society to function.