The Off Topic Topic

[Ideologue]

And 500,000 more jobs are lost.  Or perhaps a million--or three million globally.  Hey, Joan, when is that innovation you've been talking about for like, I dunno, a solid decade, gonna start providing jobs, anyway?

[Admiral Yi]

And 500,000 more jobs are lost.  Or perhaps a million--or three million globally.  Hey, Joan, when is that innovation you've been talking about for like, I dunno, a solid decade, gonna start providing jobs, anyway?

Yunno Ide, about half the posters here work with thinking machines.

[DGuller]

And 500,000 more jobs are lost.  Or perhaps a million--or three million globally.  Hey, Joan, when is that innovation you've been talking about for like, I dunno, a solid decade, gonna start providing jobs, anyway?

Yunno Ide, about half the posters here work with thinking machines.

Half the posters here are lawyers, it's hardly a representative sample.

[Admiral Yi]

Half the posters here are lawyers, it's hardly a representative sample.

Which doesn't rebut my rebuttal of Ide's implicit claim.

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

We'll have self-driving cars in about five years. No one will need taxis or Uber then.

Not gonna happen, at least not off-highway.  There are too many issues with autonomous vehicles interacting with the rest of the world to be worked out in such a short timespan.

[Sheilbh]

And 500,000 more jobs are lost.  Or perhaps a million--or three million globally.  Hey, Joan, when is that innovation you've been talking about for like, I dunno, a solid decade, gonna start providing jobs, anyway?

So what?

I can't wait for robots and a basic minimum income and the age of creativity it'll unleash. Better that than inventing jobs like HR for people to pretend they're productive.

[Ideologue]

I'm sure they'll come at exactly the same time.

Yunno Ide, about half the posters here work with thinking machines.

I know.  I do.  In fact, my job wouldn't exist without it.

And I'm for self-driving cars.  I'm just describing what I think the outcome will be, which will be maintenance of the current culture, which is to say that there will be neither jobs nor a minimum income for the displaced (and ultimately we will all be displaced).  There will be only finger-wagging and hand-wringing.  Alternately, of course.

[DGuller]

We'll have self-driving cars in about five years. No one will need taxis or Uber then.

Not gonna happen, at least not off-highway.  There are too many issues with autonomous vehicles interacting with the rest of the world to be worked out in such a short timespan.

I agree, five years sounds too optimistic.  But I also think it's an inevitability, and neither laws, insurance concerns, nor human drivers' mistaken belief in the superiority of their driving skills, are going to stand in the way of self-driving cars.

[derspiess]

Not gonna happen, at least not off-highway.  There are too many issues with autonomous vehicles interacting with the rest of the world to be worked out in such a short timespan.

My biggest concern with a self-driving car would be some asshole hacking into it and making me crash.

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

I agree, five years sounds too optimistic.  But I also think it's an inevitability, and neither laws, insurance concerns, nor human drivers' mistaken belief in the superiority of their driving skills, are going to stand in the way of self-driving cars.

Oh yeah, it will happen eventually.  It will also happen gradually, starting as I said with highway travel.  Dual-mode cars that basically have a highway "autopilot".  They still require a driver, but on a limited-access highway and outside of exceptional conditions the driver won't have to do anything.

[sbr]

Not gonna happen, at least not off-highway.  There are too many issues with autonomous vehicles interacting with the rest of the world to be worked out in such a short timespan.

My biggest concern with a self-driving car would be some asshole hacking into it and making me crash.

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

My biggest concern with a self-driving car would be some asshole hacking into it and making me crash.

My boss is thinking about buying a Tesla, and the idea that Tesla can patch the car's firmware over the air scares the shit out of me.  I want the critical systems in my car to have air gaps.  Make someone who wants to hack something critical physically break into my car to do it.

[frunk]

My boss is thinking about buying a Tesla, and the idea that Tesla can patch the car's firmware over the air scares the shit out of me.  I want the critical systems in my car to have air gaps.  Make someone who wants to hack something critical physically break into my car to do it.

That does sound phenomenally dumb.  Is there at least an option to require your approval before the update hits?

[crazy canuck]

My boss is thinking about buying a Tesla, and the idea that Tesla can patch the car's firmware over the air scares the shit out of me.  I want the critical systems in my car to have air gaps.  Make someone who wants to hack something critical physically break into my car to do it.

That does sound phenomenally dumb.  Is there at least an option to require your approval before the update hits?

Yes, the owner gets notified through a display in the car that an update is available and the owner schedules the update for when they want it to be applied.

Btw one of my friends has one and loves it. 

[Zanza]

Dual-mode cars that basically have a highway "autopilot".  They still require a driver, but on a limited-access highway and outside of exceptional conditions the driver won't have to do anything.

You can buy such cars today. Next year every manufacturer will sell a car or a whole range of cars that can drive autonomous on highways. They can steer, accelerate, brake, have 360 degrees vision, radar, night vision, never get tired etc. Cars are just the better drivers. Maybe five years is slightly too optimistic, but it won't take ten years anymore. The technology is there.