Beep boop - this is a robot. A new show has been posted to TWiT…
What are your thoughts about today’s show? We’d love to hear from you!
There are two fatal flaws to the logic that autonomous vehicles are safer on the road than human drivers. The latter flaw isn’t serious, but deadly serious at the same time. And yes, I am intentionally packing in all the morbid puns (that pun you will understand later). Actually, I think that is all the puns I will be using. Anyways.
The first flaw in assuming autonomous vehicles are safer is by comparing the full data set for accidents caused by humans but only a subset of data for autonomous driving. Self-driving vehicles, while never weary, do not operate 24/7 in snow, rain, heat, or gloom of night…well, maybe the latter two, but this is something I was referencing later. When there is inclement weather, autonomous vehicles will not operate themselves and humans may be expected to drive for themselves. For the purpose of this paragraph, I am not going to differentiate whether the driving is necessary or not, nor will I assume that it is due to sudden change of driving conditions occurred. If you do not have data for autonomous driving because the software will not allow the vehicle to operate under those conditions so we then exclude the data for when humans drive under those same conditions, how much safer is autonomy to the human counterpart (eg exclude data where humans were operating a vehicle during a blizzard)? If we had autonomous vehicles operate during bad weather, how much worse would their driving records be? If their developers are to be believed, and I do not think they are lying about this, it would be a lot worse. That is why developers say they designed the systems not to operate under those conditions. This is why I am not convinced that autonomous vehicles are as safe as they are being portrayed. We are not given the results from data that when compared under the same conditions. We’re just told, “overall, software will be safer than humans,” without knowing what data that is being compared.
The other flaw is when humans are expected to rise up and drive during times of urgency, even during times when everything has difficulty navigating. Whether that be the postal carrier (subtly referenced in the second paragraph) or, the noblest of all professions, the meat packer (callback to the final pun in the first paragraph; I told you I would make that make sense). If you include driving data from individuals who are expected to drive regardless of driving conditions, that too will taint the data set and strongly influence the results. That probably goes more for some professions more than others, but you never know when you will have a leader who will demand more from people than should be required.
I’m so delighted that we will be hearing Paris every week! A fantastic addition to the show.
2 Likes
The other thing is, even the more limited systems that existing cars have (lane keeping, for example) aren’t that good.
There are 2 places near where I live that all lane keeping assistants hat I’ve used have problems with - VW, Skoda, Audi, Kia, Nissan, BMW, Ford and Toyota.
The first is at the end of a stretch of dual-carriageway. They repaired the road a few years back and there are tar strips on the road. For some reason, the lane keeping follows the tar stips and tries to drive straight into the concrete divider! You have to yank the steering back to the lane each time.
My own car’s assistant is, thankfully, just a warning tone, which beeps every time I drive past it, with the pool cars from work and the test drives I did with other cars, each one physically tried to yank the steering wheel out of my hands and dive for the divider!
Likewise, there is an exit ramp that rises up to a junction to an industrial estate, as you drive up the ramp there is, again, a tar strip, where the road was repaired. And, again, each of those cars tries to swerve from the exit onto the grass bank above the main road!
When I have a pool car from work, I always disable the lane keeping, because it is more dangerous than not having it active!
Excellent show, Paris and Ant were really on form.
Glad to hear Paris is becoming a regular.
Now, sit her down with the Matter standard, she has to know it backwards, if she is to take over from Stacey! 
Only kidding, she is really great.
3 Likes
Loved to see her join. the team - she’s fun
1 Like