:wtf: News Stories
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As in:
why is this a News Story?
Full story here Rival robot cars meet on California highway
I don't know about you, but when I saw the headline I thought of the UK TV Show Robot Wars. IIRC the format was exported to the good ol' US of A. Don't know about the rest of the world so I added this because I did not want to be considered a yankophile [spoiler] I looked, but apparently there is no official word, equivalent to anglophile, for the love of all things American - Perhaps there is a moral in there somewhere. There is Francophile, but I'm British[/spoiler]
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Althouse had a take on this:
###2 self-driving cars make the news by not having an accident.
As the Delphi vehicle prepared to change lanes, a Google self-driving prototype — a Lexus RX400h crossover fitted with similar hardware and software — cut off the Audi, forcing it to abort the lane change, Absmeier said. The Delphi car "took appropriate action," according to Absmeier.
So the car that was continuing in its own lane is said to "cut off" a car that was trying to change lanes? The Delphi exec is seeking publicity for avoiding a crash, but why did the car create a close call in the first place? Was it testing its crash-avoidance technology? Why call attention to this? Are we supposed to find it interesting that 2 self-driving cars got a little close to each other on some Silicon Valley street?
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So the car that was continuing in its own lane is said to "cut off" a car that was trying to change lanes?
Seems they got the AI behind self drives cars down to perfect replication of human behaviour
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That was pretty much her conclusion:
Perhaps, in real-life driving, we do attempt to change lanes in situations where the idea is to get the other car to slow down and let us in and, when it doesn't, we think the driver of that other car is "cutting us off." It may be that a self-driving car that just owns its lane and proceeds at a consistent speed is insufficiently adapted to the human culture of driving.
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Seems they got the AI behind self drives cars down to perfect replication of human behaviour
Depends. Did it also honk aggressively?
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I don't know, I don't think the observers mentioned. Which would indicate a lack of indignation and thus suggests that the answer is probably no.
Ah well, there is no such thing as perfect software :(
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Did it also honk aggressively?
It did, but it was over bluetooth so only the cars would know.
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It has just occurred to me. What is the point of driverless cars? The car parks are full of them already. So much so that the the ones with drivers have to park on the motorways.
I now have the additional mental image of herds of them acting like frightened sheep.
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I covered this yesterday on my amazing Twitter feed:
Then I posted this image of an old animatronic Godzilla head:
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8-year-old girl has a cough, causing her to miss Little Mermaid performance
Bloody good job too - it would have spoiled it for everybody else.
Actually I liked it - argument for partial
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Do not overlook the human asshole factor:
I think that self-driving cars will become rolling road blocks. I'll learn how to trick their sensors and programs to f-up their driving. Cut them off, stop short on them, pass them extremely closely ... it will be entertaining to watch them lock their brakes in response.
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it will be entertaining to
watch them lock their brakes in response.get charged with voluntary manslaugherDefinitely.
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What is the point of driverless cars?
In theory, they can drive in a more orderly fashion, eliminating the tragedy of the commons that's out there, resulting in massive inefficiency and traffic jams. Maybe safer, too. I mean...tens of thousands of lives a year, potentially. But most importantly, no more designated drivers!
Of course, we're a ways off from any of those benefits.
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@blakeyrat said:
Seriously, Fox News. WTF.
Is it not a bit too soon for this?
Eh...they just paraphrased the original Reuters account.
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Follow-up story on ars:
No, 2 self-driving cars didn’t have a “close call” on Silicon Valley streets [Updated]
![No, 2 self-driving cars didn’t have a “close call” on Silicon Valley streets [Updated]](https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/autonomous-driving-vehicle-parked-with-san-francisco-in-background-640x215.jpg)
Delphi spokeswoman: "Our car did exactly what it was supposed to."
Our car saw the Google car move into the same lane as our car was planning to move into, but upon detecting that the lane was no longer open it decided to terminate the move and wait until it was clear again.
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Un fuck ing be live able. Grown ups resorting to the cut and thrust of reason and arguments that you would have to search long and far to find another example of.
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It may be that a self-driving car that just owns its lane and proceeds at a consistent speed is insufficiently adapted to the human culture of driving.
Humans are insufficiently adapted to the human culture of driving.
So the self-driving car seems to adapt just fine.
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Seems like someone thought "it's funny and cute in the same way as a report about puppies learning to walk.
